History Main / TheNeidermeyer

** Spiers Himself had [[GeneralRipper other issues]]. It was suspected that he murdered several Germans that had been captured. This was especially egregious as one of the captured soldiers was a German American who thought he was doing the right thing by joining his German relatives. He was a bit of a {{glory hound}} willing [[CowboyCop to do anything to get the job done]]. In fact, Spiers's attitude and actions were encouraged by their superiors and led to a lot of questionable decisions both tactically and morally. He almost executed an American soldier without a trial at one point for shooting a respected superior officer. In Spiers's case, his recklessness worked out in his favor but had the army followed regulations he would have been removed and investigated for war crimes.

** Archer in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]] fits the trope pretty well too. Incidentally, the anime version of Grand ''isn't'' exactly the most lovable commander himself.

*** In reality he fought bravely and well in Normandy, and then in the assault on Foy he was actually severed wounded and unable to lead the attack further rather than freezing & breaking from the strain of command.

'''Neidermeyer:''' You'll report to the stable tonight and every night at 1900 hours, AND WITHOUT THAT PLEDGE PIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!! [...] You're all worthless and weak! Now drop and give me twenty!

* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWarsDaysOfRuin'':

* The TropeNamer is the blowhard ROTC commander Douglas C. Neidermeyer from ''Film/AnimalHouse''. The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue reveals that he ended up being [[UnfriendlyFire shot by his own troops]] in Vietnam. In the John Landis-directed segment of ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'', we even meet the soldiers who shot him.

* 'VideoGame/AdvanceWarsDaysOfRuin'':

* Admiral Greyfield of ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]''. A complete coward and a sub-par commander whose greatest skills are taking credit for victories, and shifting blame for losses. He threatens execution for any failure to follow his orders to the letter, especially the order to win the battle. His cowardice is so much that he relentlessly hunts down any that don't adhere to absolute rule no matter how many of his own men are sacrificed or caught in the blast of the super weapon used to [[spoiler:[[NoKillLikeOverkill kill a single dissenting captain]]]], even resorting to executing enemies after surrender. [[spoiler:Lin even implied that he was a subpar commander at best and faked his results.]]

* Sufficiently unhappy nobles in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' act this way, ordering beatings and hammerings to any dwarf that ignores (or is incapable of fulfilling) their demands. Unsurprisingly, players tend to respond to such behavior with [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch their own form of capital punishment]].

In more [[WarIsHell cynical]] war movies, there will be no escape from this petty and obnoxious brute, and the men simply grouse and wait for the day someone on the opposing side will get lucky and catch him in the crosshairs. The troops might even conspire to [[UnfriendlyFire frag him themselves]] if they get tired of waiting for the enemy to do the job.

In more upbeat war shows, he's usually forced to learn AnAesop about his awful command style and adjust his behavior in a way that either changes him into [[AFatherToHisMen a likable officer]] or results in his resignation, demotion, or [[ReassignedToAntarctica transfer to a more suitable post]].

If he is [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking too tough to frag]], though, the (un)lucky survivor of his tirades will become either a YesMan with no more backbone than he started off with, with a sense of "loyalty" to him, or TheDragon who seeks to become his successor when he dies/moves on. In a best-case scenario, the successor may show much competence and merely view the man as a CynicalMentor or DrillSergeantNasty, but not always. In this case, the other troops will remain as spiteful as ever, but find that the converted will easily take care of any sort of mutiny they try to pull off.

* Many Orc officers in all versions of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
** Averted by Shagrat, who cares about his men and is actually shown to be fairly noble. He even gets a good death. Also Uglúk of Saruman's Uruk-Hai.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Admiral Konstantine, an arrogant and incompetent GloryHound who only ever accomplishes anything when someone like [[MagnificentBastard Grand Admiral Thrawn]] is babysitting him, [[UngratefulBastard which he repays with resentment]]. [[spoiler:This behavior ultimately gets him killed and costs the Empire a vital victory; during the siege of Atollon, Konstantine is ordered to keep his ship (an Interdictor not meant for direct combat) in a safe position so the Rebels cannot escape via [[FasterThanLightTravel hyperspeed]], only to instead chase after Commander Sato's cruiser for the sake of recognition. Naturally, it turns out Sato was [[ISurrenderSuckers faking a retreat]] so he could [[TakingYouWithMe turn and ram the Interdictor]], destroying it and killing everyone on board.]]

* Colonel [=Mckinsey=] from ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' is a real piece of work that makes Perrault look like a saint in comparison. Unlike Perrault, who is willing to [[FrontLineGeneral fight on the frontlines]] when his base falls under attack, [=McKinsey=] [[DirtyCoward would rather have a desk job]] than fight on the front lines. He also [[GloryHound hoards all of Spare Squadron’s accomplishments to himself]], and will throw any disobedience, no matter how minor, into solitary confinement. He’s so reprehensible, that even [[EveryoneHasStandards [=AWACS=] Bandog doesn’t like him]], and in the mission ''Transfer Orders'', [[PlayerCharacter Trigger]] can shoot down his transport plane, and even though it will end the mission in failure, the player will be rewarded 1000 points for it, and Bandog will remark that the cargo was hardly worth protecting.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Captain Edward Jellico seems like this at the start, but subverts it by the end. Placed in temporary command of the ''Enterprise'', he systematically alienates most of the crew thanks to his hard and uncompromising command style, even having Data replace Riker as NumberOne after Riker keeps resisting his changes. After the first episode, the audience will assuredly hate him, and everything is set up to watch him fail in his mission while the primary Picard-is-captured plot yields the answer, showing him up. The second episode instead has him learn to loosen up just enough to recognize his flaws, and it's his tactics that not only win the day but save Picard in the process.
** Some of the changes he makes seem to stick, eg making Troi wear a regular Starfleet uniform.

'''Neidermeyer:''' A PLEDGE PIN?! On your UNIFORM?! Just tell me, mister, what fraternity would pledge a man like you?\\

The polar opposite of this trope is "AFatherToHisMen" (into which the Neidermeyer may well evolve). There is also the VeteranInstructor, an instructor who has distinguished himself in battle and now is teaching new recruits, fully cognizant and respectful of the realities of war and training, which typically earns considerable respect from his trainees. In many cases, a GeneralFailure is basically a Neidermeyer with greater rank and thus even more scope for causing damage. If the Neidermeyer is a temporary replacement for the usual ReasonableAuthorityFigure, it may also be a TyrantTakesTheHelm story. The SisterTrope - a low-ranking leader, such as non-commissioned officer, lacking in authority or hated by his men is GungHolierThanThou.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction, Alan Jonah doesn't start out as this but he quickly ends up this way as his SanitySlippage progresses. Two of Jonah's soldiers are outraged that Jonah doesn't even think about his men's welfare when refusing to get them away from the severed Ghidorah head's BrownNote, and once Jonah's [[spoiler:TestedOnHumans is exposed]], one of the {{Mook Lieutenant}}s is blinded by rage, whilst another of Jonah's troops doesn't need much further prompting bfore she pulls a ScrewThisImOuttaHere.

* Oberleutnant von Nogay from ''Film/CKDezerterzy''. Loudmouthed, abusive and cruel. When his commanding officer, Major Wagner, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech chews him out for brutalizing the soldiers]], von Nogay goes as far as to threaten him.

* ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'': Rhodes is this trope to an almost ridiculous degree. Constantly screaming at everyone around, attempting to take control of every situation by force, ordering his men to kill people for minor offenses... they really should have found someone more mentally stable to be in his position. Granted, his command has really only just started as the film opens. As at least one of the CO's above him (Commander Cooper) has just died.

** Lt Marty Pascal, the executive officer of the submarine ''Stingray'', gets his comeuppance when he tries to mutiny against Dodge and ''no one'' will stand with him. Dodge and the crew dress as pirates, blindfold him, and force him to WalkThePlank - right into the net of a fishing ship that takes him back to base. He ''thought'' they were actually going to kill him, though.

** Porteous Glaves, the newly appointed commander of the 8th Regiment in book two, is an UpperClassTwit who bought his current position with money (a practice thoroughly despised by professional soldiers, but allowed by authorities of Argonath as a source of income) solely and only to further his political career. He spends most of the time throwing his weight around, acting as if his position of commander [[EntitledBastard allows him to do whatever he wants]] and being generally obnoxious and arrogant to everyone around him. When the 8th Regiment is sent on campaign to Ourdh, he quickly proves to be an abysmal and incompetent leader, abusing his troops for little to no reason, showing no commanding skills whatsoever and acting queasy and cowardly when in real battle.
** Turrent is a relatively mild example. He knows the rules and regulations inside and out, is overly strict when it comes to following them and makes sure the dragonboys under his command do everything by the book, no matter how trivial it is. When they fail to appease him -- even by doing something as inconsequential as not cleaning a part of equipment ''nearly'' good enough -- he will gleefully punish them. ''Especially'' Relkin. On the other hand, he used to be a dragon squire himself, so he surely knows what he's doing (unlike his successor Wiliger) and eventually warms up a bit.

* Captain Queeg of Herman Wouk's ''Literature/TheCaineMutiny'', and the movie and play (''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'') based on it, could almost be the TropeNamer. It is often used in media as an alternate name for this trope.[[note]]Queeg himself, however, actually ''[[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]]'' this trope; while his behavior in the book certainly fits, the climax of the novel reveals that he actually had quite a distinguished career in the Atlantic before transferring to the Pacific Theatre but the long deployment had left him shattered and suffering from extreme [[ShellShockedVeteran "battle fatigue]]," and the crew's mistreatment of him and assuming he was just an insane coward only exacerbated his behaviour, resulting in his indecesion during the typhoon that caused the titular mutiny.[[/note]]

** Actually, nearly every general in the armies of the Sto Plains (the area in which Ankh-Morpork lies) counts as this since their general battle strategy is to hurl their men at the enemy and receive "glorious casualties", since apparently the number of fallen men equals how great the battle was for them. If they actually win anything, that's a nice albeit unimportant bonus. They see the famous general Tacticus as a dishonorable military leader because he had the distinct tendency to win battles and wars and bring most of his soldiers back alive. The official metric goes something like this: First, both sides throw their men at each other. Then, you subtract ''your'' casualties from ''their'' casualties, and "if the answer is a positive sum, it was a glorious victory".

** In ''Literature/EndersGame'', Bonzo Madrid, as commander of Salamander Army, proudly overdisciplines his boys (and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Petra]]) with a sharp tongue and a quick backhand. He is particularly resentful of Ender being assigned to his command as underage and untested NewMeat, and so puts him under strict orders to hang back and do absolutely nothing in battles, with the goal of gaming Ender's efficiency rating (no points will be deducted for missed shots if he never draws his gun) so he will be easier to trade to another army. When Ender sees Salamander losing one battle to Leopard Army--due to poor morale, no less--he springs into action at the last minute and inflicts just enough casualties to prevent Leopard from claiming victory. Bonzo rewards Ender for having turned a loss into a draw by beating him up because "no good soldier ever disobeys."

** Bosendorfer is a Greatsword commander who's very jeaous of his authority, and consequently very dislpeased at the easy superiority Felix shows over him at every turn by being more skilled, more courageous, and better-liked by his own men. It doesn't help that he ha a bad case of InferioritySuperiorityComplex, only being in command due to the death of his (much more skillful) older brother.

* ''Series/HellsKitchen'': Creator/GordonRamsay follows this trope in this show and any of his American-produced shows. ''However'', Ramsay's behavior on the UK original of "Kitchen Nightmares" puts him much more in the ''SergeantRock'' personality trope. He may be harsh on the incompetent or misguided cooks, but he's doing it so the diners get the best experience and the cooks realize their own potential.

** Margaret Houlihan is this herself in the beginning. Insecure in herself because her father is a career officer who really wanted a son to follow in his footsteps, and aware that opportunities for a female officer are limited, she is harsh on her nurses and feels alienated and alone. After the departure of Burns, she mellows out and passes on from her own Neidermeyer stage, becoming a competent and compassionate officer, learning from Potter, Hawkeye, and BJ.

** Not so much in the earlier seasons. In the Season 3 episode "Officer of the Day", Hawkeye's command of the 4077th was treated as little more than a day at the office; he essentially spent the whole period doing what he always did, albeit while having to deal with a visit from [[GeneralRipper Colonel Flagg]]. FridgeBrilliance is that, since his command lasted only a day, and an uneventful one (save for Flagg's visit) at that, Hawkeye didn't have to deal with the rigors of command that Blake went through on a day to day basis.

** Gareth Keenan, Dwight's equivalent (and character model) in the original British series, takes it even further, since he was a Territorial Army soldier (think National Guard) who insisted on his status as Deputy Team Leader after David Brent and who stood on a largely non-existent authority.

** Common Imperial Guard tactics employed usually boil down to "throw men at it by the regiment like a battering ram until it breaks." A noted battle cries of commissars is, "We will drown them in our blood and crush them under the weight of our own dead!"

* Admiral Greyfield of ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]''. A complete coward and a sub-par commander whose greatest skills are taking credit for victories, and shifting blame for losses. He threatens executions for any failure to follow his orders to the letter, especially the order to win the battle. His cowardice is so much that he relentlessly hunts down any that don't adhere to absolute rule no matter how many of his own men are sacrificed or caught in the blast of the super weapon used to [[spoiler:[[NoKillLikeOverkill kill a single dissenting captain]]]], even resorting to executing enemies after surrender. [[spoiler:Lin even implied that he was a subpar commander at best and faked his results.]]

* Kraze and Kanaan from ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'', who you'll grow to hate very much early on in the game. Kanaan is more or less a classic example of a real dirtbag who wants all the glory to himself but hides behind his soldiers. Kraze is more or less the same, but at least he [[spoiler:he isn't given an option to be spared unlike most of the Imperial commanders]].

* Lee Linjun from ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Super Robot Wars Original Generation 2]]'' quickly makes himself known as a complete jerk. He constantly argues with the pilots (especially Excellen and Katina), is clearly jealous of Tetsuya (even though Lee outranks him and commands a ship), and fully cements himself as a Neidermeyer when he makes it clear that everyone is expendable, and he really doesn't care if any member of the crew lives or dies. [[FaceHeelTurn Then he just defects to the Shadow Mirrors]]. Lee apparently lost his wife and parents during the events of the first game (6-months prior) and hasn't had time to deal with his grief. He's too much of an ass for fans to feel much sympathy towards, but it does help explain his irrational behavior.

** Sarge is an awful leader, but a brilliant MadScientist. To date: three robots, one with a 10 megaton nuclear warhead hidden inside of it, one cyborg, one weather control machine, and one successful transfer of cyborg's organs into a near-dead human.

* Capt Marcus of ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'' is the worst example. He's both a GeneralRipper and GeneralFailure all rolled into one. His battleplans usually end up getting ambushed and outgunned by the enemy.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Admiral Konstantine, an arrogant and incompetent GloryHound who only ever accomplishes anything when someone like [[MagnificentBastard Grand Admiral Thrawn]] is babysitting him, [[UngratefulBastard which he repays with resentment]]. [[spoiler:This behavior ultimately gets him killed and costs the Empire a vital victory; during the siege of Atollon, Konstantine is ordered to keep his ship (an Interdictor not meant for direct combat) in a safe position so the Rebels cannot escape via [[FasterThanLightTravel hyperspeed]], only to instead chase after Commander Sato's cruiser for the sake of recognition. Naturally, it turns out Sato was [[ISurrenderSuckers faking a retreat]] so he could [[TakingYouWithMe turn and ram the Interdictor]], destroying it and killing everyone on-board.]]

** Starscream himself usually ends up as one of these whenever he's given the reigns. He's no fool, being very book-smart and a skilled fighter, but he's a roundly terrible commander; he often ends up getting betrayed or losing control of his own plots. The comic book ''Spotlight: Megatron'' shows the titular character being positively ''enraged'' at Starscream after he managed to, in three years of the former's absence, turn the aftermath of what had been a decisive and wide-ranging Decepticon victory into a complete rout that left troops cannibalizing each other to avoid starvation. A later comic, ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'', however would reveal Starscream's true calling: politics.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoYogi'': Dick Dastardly usurps Yogi's position as the head of the LAF (Lost And Found) section of Jellystone Mall and becomes a Neidermeyer to Yogi's friends. Later on, two kidnappers trick him into abducting Augie Doggie and he's now afraid of being sent to prison. He tries to get Yogi's friends to help him rescuing Augie but they won't follow him, so he brings Yogi back.

** After the defeat in Stalingrad (a defeat that occurred purely due to Hitler's personal strategic intervention) Hitler went from "makes unreasonable demands and interferes in well-made plans" to "detached from reality". The famous stories from his war room are that he would regularly issue orders to units that no longer existed or were so undermanned they might as well not exist, then when his plans didn't work out, would blame the subordinate who was "responsible". Most Generals were lucky enough that they would simply be demoted or put somewhere out of the way (legendary General Guderian was one example), however some were not so lucky and would be executed for cowardice or "defying orders".

** Custer had problems even before Little Big Horn: suspension from duty for a year for being AWOL, misappropriation of funds meant for provisions for reservation Indians, and during Reconstruction duty in Texas he only narrowly escaped being fragged by his own troops (namely, the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry, of which Custer had been given command and who resented his attempts at discipline). He was routinely called a 'dandy' and 'Ringlets' by his men as a result of his obsession with his personal appearance. Little Big Horn itself was the result of Custer's insubordination and happened when Custer and his men deserted their commanding officer (Custer had earlier been denied independent command because of his continued use of his position and his men for political lobbying).

* Soviet General Grigory Kulik had a reputation of being erratic and a murderous buffoon. His personal command motto was: "Jail, or Medal." People under his command who he favored would receive (undeserved) honors, while those he didn't would be arrested for whatever reason he could think of. He would then shout his motto at his 'favored' subordinates to intimidate them if they were starting to displease him. Not only this, he was a stupendously inept officer who had no understanding of tactics and resisted all military innovations (such as tanks, rocket artillery, minefields, and sub-machine guns, all of which were effective). The only reason he survived for so long when other much more competent generals did not was because he himself had the personal favor of Stalin. He finally lost it after the end of WWII, when he was overheard criticizing Stalin. He was soon arrested and eventually executed.

* General [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol_Świerczewski Karol Świerczewski]] was hailed as a hero by post-war Soviet propaganda and made the protagonist of many (completely fictitious) war stories, but in reality, he was an utter GeneralFailure who repeatedly displayed complete lack of strategic skills (employing HollywoodTactics some of which would make even the actual Hollywood writers cringe) as well as total disregard for the life and well-being of soldiers under his command. On top of that, he was an abject alcoholic who -- according to many accounts -- even led his battles while drunk. The list of his military blunders is too long to put it here, but the worst and most egregious one is arguably the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bautzen_(1945) Battle of Bautzen]], which took place in final days of World War Two. Świerczewski, who was in charge of the Polish Second Army at that time, figured he could seize some glory for himself by capturing Dresden ahead of schedule. To achieve that goal, he ignored the directives given to him by his superiors and rushed his armored divisions forward, seeing no need to keep his forces in formation and close to each other. As a result, he needlessly stretched the entire army and formed huge gaps between separate units. Tanks speeding towards Dresden had no support of infantry, which in turn was left behind and had no protection of tanks, while artillery had no proper cover nor could it render support to other units. No second guesses what happened when Germans launched a counter-attack and their recon noticed those gaps. The resulting bloodbath wiped out over twenty-two percent of entire Second Army in but a few days and is still deemed one of the worst and most humiliating defeats in the history of Polish military. It was salvaged from total disaster only by timely intervention of Marshal Ivan Konev. To make matters worse, Świerczewski [[KarmaHoudini never got his comeuppance]] and was promoted shortly after the battle.

* Virtually every officer in the pre-Russo-Japanese war UsefulNotes/{{Tsarist Russia}}n military, because of the brutal means of discipline and strict social class differences. Almost all officers came from the privileged nobility, while the enlisted men were almost all [[SlaveMook force-levied conscripts]]. One particular example was Lieutenant Ippolit Giliarovsky on pre-dreadnought battleship ''Potemkin'', whose uppity, cocky and bullying behaviour sparked the mutiny immortalized on Sergei Eisenstein's ''Film/BattleshipPotemkin''.

** However, the wheels are starting to come off, and it's too late to tighten the lug nuts. Junior officers and senior NCO's, aware that the military is downsizing and completely fed up with incompetent leadership where the Neidermeyer is far too common, are hitting the door in ''droves.'' A great deal of their frustration was succinctly summed up in a devastating article written by an ''active duty'' lieutenant colonel. He boldly and honestly stated that a soldier who lost a rifle faced far greater consequences than a general who lost a battle or a war. Further, he observed that generals and admirals who commit rape and sexual harassment are protected by a "good old boys" system that ensures the worst that will happen to them is retirement with full pay and benefits. He ended the article by saying that junior personnel are fully aware that their leadership will throw them under a bus without a moment's hesitation.

* Averted in ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr'' ("A Matter for Men"). The hero Jim [=McCarthy=], having just been made an officer after killing a rampaging Chtorran; tries to bully [[HotScientist Dr. Fletcher]] out of some Chtorran specimens. First, she takes him down a peg by showing [=McCarthy=] that the Chtorran he 'killed' is still very much alive. Then she points out that everyone wants to look up to their superiors, so an officer's job is to ''inspire'' people, not boss them about. She finishes by congratulating [=McCarthy=] on his shooting and asks him to bring flowers next time. [=McCarthy=] is highly embarrassed but learns from the experience. In "A Season for Slaughter" however, when pushed too far by incompetent Major Bellus, [=McCarthy=] doesn't educate this Neidermeyer, he demolishes him. On worldwide live television.

* ''Videogame/{{Frostpunk}}:'' Your predecessor captain in the ''Fall of Winterhold'' campaign was a vicious idiot who is singlehandedly responsible for the city's ruin, and for almost dragging other settlements into it from beyond the grave. First, if you've been playing the game long enough as soon as you start you can realize the whole city's been planned, all by him, in the ''stupidest'' of ways you'd only do if you had never played before, and passed the most authoritative, least supportive or helpful laws in the book that you cannot repeal, and ''loved'' enforcing them upon the populace. Then he drove the city's vital Generator (the one thing keeping the Antarctic-at-best temperatures at bay) to such extents and ignored so many warnings about it that he damaged it and nearly caused an explosion, and ordered half the city to be ''executed on the streets'' for rioting about it. And even after he got dragged out of office and repeatedly shot for being incompetent, the generator was so damaged its eventual explosion became inevitable, forcing everyone to either evacuate on a dreadnought with uncertain destination or freeze to death/[[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty get eaten by men freezing to death]].

* Played for comedy in two Film/TwistedSister videos, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xmckWVPRaI We're Not Gonna Take It]]", the Neidermeyer is an irate dad; in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRwrg0db_zY I Wanna Rock]]", the teacher is one. Either way, the guy ends up as the ButtMonkey and is played by [[Film/AnimalHouse the original Neidermeyer]], Creator/MarkMetcalf (helps the former song ends with Dee Snider mimicking the picture caption atop this page). Metcalf also appears in one video by Lit.

[[folder:Machinima]]
* Sarge of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is this type of leader, a bloodthirsty madman whose plans are fueled by his irrational hatred for the lazy and insubordinate Grif and his enemies the Blue team, being the only one to make SeriousBusiness of the otherwise cold war between the two. Nonetheless, he is usually followed by the other soldiers, particularly the kiss-ass YesMan Simmons. Or he would be if he wasn't so funny. The best order he's ever given was "Scream like a woman!"
** Sarge is an awful leader, but a brilliant MadScientist. To date: three robots, one with a 10 megaton nuclear warhead hidden inside of it, one cyborg, one weather control machine, and one successful transfer of cyborg's organs into a near-dead human.
** He does show merit as a leader during several moments in season 8, most notably when [[spoiler:he trusts Grif to help him take down Agent Washington, and later to help him rescue The Alpha device and take down The Meta.]]
** He spends most of the series as this trope, then CharacterDevelopment finally morphs him into SergeantRock late in the eighth season.
** Simmons during his brief stint as leader of the Blood Gulch Reds.
[[/folder]]

->''"Get up, you faggots! Get up and charge!"''
-->-- '''[[TropeNamers Doug Neidermeyer]]''', ''Film/AnimalHouse''
%% Only one quote on the main page, please! Additional ones can go on the quotes page.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/AnimalHouse https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1screenshot_17.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"'''A PPPLEDGE PPPIN?!? ''ON YOUR UNIFORRRMMM?!'''''"]]

* Deputy Marshal Fetlock in the ''Literature/LauraCaxton'' series at least hovers on the edge of being this. Caxton's allies Clara Hsu and Officer Glauer acknowledge that Fetlock's adherence to the rules isn't a bad thing in itself, and respect that he would have accepted his own sentence if he was ever brought up on the charges that led to Caxton being arrested, but his adherence to the law prevents him from recognising that his strategies won't work when dealing with vampires; his determination to keep his troops alive just means that the vampires are killing innocent civilians instead, his refusal to believe Caxton when she claims the main vampire isn't dead gave her foe two years to make a new plan, and when he finally tries to go after the vampires he gets his entire team killed because he relied on a show of force rather than ask Caxton to help out.

A commanding officer with zero respect for his troops, and probably plenty for himself. Because of his demonstrated [[GeneralFailure incompetence]], [[MilesGloriosus cowardice]], [[ArmchairMilitary inexperience]], [[WeHaveReserves willingness to sacrifice his men]] for [[GloryHound his own glory]] while keeping himself safely out of harm's way, an obsessive desire [[KickedUpstairs to get promoted]], or just being a [[SociopathicSoldier psychotic]]-level [[{{Jerkass}} hardass]], his authority is resented by the men in the trenches, and his orders are only obeyed because chain-of-command says so.

A commanding officer with zero respect for his troops, and probably plenty for himself. Because of his demonstrated [[GeneralFailure incompetence]], [[MilesGloriosus cowardice]], [[ArmchairMilitary inexperience]], [[WeHaveReserves willingness to sacrifice his men]] for [[GloryHound his own glory]] while keeping himself safely out of harm's way, an obsessive desire [[KickedUpstairs to get promoted]], or just being a [[SociopathicSoldier psychotic-level]] [[{{Jerkass}} hardass]], his authority is resented by the men in the trenches, and his orders are only obeyed because chain-of-command says so.

A DrillSergeantNasty [[CynicalMentor just acts like one]], with [[TrainingFromHell the purpose of turning recruits into soldiers]]. A SergeantRock may act like one but is nonetheless held in high regard because he wouldn't put his men through anything he wouldn't go through himself. The Neidermeyer may believe he is either or both.

* Brigadier General Fessler from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' might have set a record in shortest time between showing up and being offed by his own troops: a few pages, or a few minutes in-story time. In his few pages of life, his only plan of attack in a guerrilla war is to charge, he only thinks of glory for himself, and when the enemy attempts to surrender he refuses, at which point [[AFatherToHisMen a very different commander archetype]], {{Colonel|Badass}} [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Basque Grand]] has had enough and [[UnfriendlyFire shoots him at point-blank range]] [[KlingonPromotion so that he can take command]]. Maes Hughes' immediate reaction is to deem the shot a stray bullet, and everyone agrees ([[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch no planning was involved]]).

* [[Manga/SgtFrog Sergeant Keroro]] is a [[DirtyCoward cowardly]], [[TheSlacker lazy]], [[SmallNameBigEgo egotistical]] ManChild who'd rather play with toys all day than actually do his job and conquer the planet. [[SubvertedTrope But nobody]] [[OnlySaneMan except Giroro]] hates him for this.

* Lt. Col. Tall (Nick Nolte) in ''Film/TheThinRedLine''. He has [[GloryHound veins in his teeth]]. Partly subverted in that he [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex secretly has a low opinion of himself...]] [[BunnyEarsLawyer and his tactics work]].

* Colonel [=Mckinsey=] from ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' is a real piece of work that makes Perrault look like a saint in comparison. Unlike Perrault, who is willing to [[FrontLineGeneral fight on the frontlines]] when his base falls under attack, [=McKinsey=] [[DirtyCoward would rather have a desk job]] than fight on the front lines. He also [[GloryHound hoards all of Spare Squadron’s accomplishments to himself]], and will throw any disobedience, no matter how minor, into solitary confinement. He’s so reprehensible, that even [[{{Jerkass}} [=AWACS=] Bandog]] [[EveryoneHasStandards doesn’t like him]], and in the mission ''Transfer Orders'', [[PlayerCharacter Trigger]] can shoot down his transport plane, and even though it will end the mission in failure, the player will be rewarded 1000 points for it, and Bandog will remark that the cargo was hardly worth protecting.

* There is one story that the sailors aboard a US Navy vessel were lining up for geedunk (ice cream) when two Ensigns shouted "Make way for officers!" and started shoving through. Whereupon [[FourStarBadass Admiral]] [[FatherNeptune Halsey]] who had been waiting his turn patiently with [[AFatherToHisMen every other sailor]] shouted: "Get back where you belong!" With appropriate sailorly adjectives no doubt.

** Patton's diversion of provisions had a darker side, however, as he diverted them ''[[RightHandVersusLeftHand from other]] [[WeAreStrugglingTogether Allied armies]]''. His own army loved him, but ''everyone else'' hated him for stealing their food and leaving their men hungry... and unable to advance due to petrol and ammo shortages, leaving Patton's troops the only ones able to do so. This would've been alright if he'd been acting in the general interests of the entire Allied war effort, but 'make me look good' and 'win the war' are not compatible [[StrategyVersusTactics strategic-operational objectives]].[[note]]This was a failing common to all commanding generals; UsefulNotes/BernardLawMontgomery, given his chance in the Arnhem offensive, had massive resources diverted to him which temporarily hindered the American generals; General Mark Clark in Italy also saw to it that his Army got the lion's share of resources[[/note]] which Sadly, like [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors Joseph Stilwell]] and Douglas [=MacArthur=], Patton could not (easily) be fired because he had an extremely cosy relationship with the media and was very popular. Had he not died in an auto accident shortly after the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, he probably would have gone out like [=MacArthur=]. Namely, dismissed for being a political liability who put his own military glory first, and global consequences, no matter how dire, second.

* In the {{Elseworlds}} mini-series ''ComicBook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations'' by Creator/JohnByrne, {{Superman}}'s powerless son Joel Kent becomes this sort of officer and is shot by his own men in Vietnam.