History Main / GungHolierThanThou

* In ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'', you have Corporal Himmelstoss who was ridiculous in his requirements for maintaining regulations, even when it was impractical (such as requiring full parade ground protocol in the trenches).

%%* Col. Sam Flagg in ''Series/{{MASH}}'', as mentioned.

%%* Arnold Rimmer in ''Series/RedDwarf''.

%%* Concentration camp Kapos.
%%* In youth cadet organizations, low ranking cadets can definitely act like this, much to the annoyance of both more experienced cadets as well as the CO.

* Private Shimizu appears to be one when he first appears in ''Film/LettersFromIwoJima''. This is deconstructed later when it is revealed that he was in fact ReassignedtoAntarctica (or, actually worse, since no one was expected to come out of Iwo Jima alive) as a punishment for not being a sufficiently brutal Kenpei back in Japan.

-> ''"It's your gung-holier-than-thou attitude."''
-->-- '''Trapper John''' to '''Col. Flagg''', ''Series/{{MASH}}''

If you're looking for a soldier who's "holier than thou" in the religious sense, that's probably ChurchMilitant or RealMenLoveJesus.

* Joe has a little of this compared to other characters on ''Film/SouthPacific''.

* Col. Sam Flagg in ''Series/{{MASH}}'', as mentioned.
** Majors Frank Burns and Margaret Houlihan were this as well (although Houlihan relaxed later in the series). Burns actually slipped ''out'' of this trope in the strictest sense of the term, as [[TyrantTakesTheHelm he was technically in command of the unit]] for an undisclosed amount of time. He is quickly dropped back in as soon as [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Colonel]] [[AFatherToHisMen Potter]] arrived.
* Arnold Rimmer in ''Series/RedDwarf''.
** Kryten, being an android, is a harmless variation: able to cite any given Space Directive verbatim but with no authority whatsoever. Naturally, this gets under Rimmer's skin, as he's generally [[PoliceCodeForEverything grossly incorrect]] in whatever regulation he ''means'' to cite, and Kryten cheerfully explains the code he ''did'' cite.

* Concentration camp Kapos.
* In youth cadet organizations, low ranking cadets can definitely act like this, much to the annoyance of both more experienced cadets as well as the CO.

* In the "Toy Soldiers" episode of ''SpaceAboveAndBeyond'', Lt. Herrick straddles the line between this and TheNeidermeyer. He does have some authority, as he is in command of a Force Recon platoon, but the men under his command revere him; it's Marines of equal or higher rank that see him for what he is.

* The 1WO in ''Film/DasBoot'' is fresh into the U-boat corps having come from a plantation in Mexico and knowing nothing about the [[WarIsHell horrors of the war]] or U-boat life. He is an ardent Nazi and a by-the-book officer and is the only one who even tries to maintain his appearance and cleanliness throughout the film, though even he winds up frayed around the edges by the end.

* In ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'', you have Corporal Himmelstoss who was ridiculous in his requirements for maintaining regulations, even when it is impractical (such as requiring full parade ground protocol in the trenches).

** Kryten, being an android, is a harmless variation: able to cite any given Space Directive verbatim but with no authority whatsoever.

This trope is omnipresent in armies based on {{conscription}} where young conscript noncoms are ''assumed'' to be this way. GungHolierThanThou is the SisterTrope to TheNeidermeyer - the former is more likely to be a low-ranker such as non-commissioned officer, while the latter is likely to be in a higher position, such as a commissioned officer.

Any military setting is bound to have at least one person who is Gung Holier Than Thou: a person assigned to leadership role with little, if any, authority. Typically a non-commissioned officer who likely sleeps with a copy of their force's code of conduct under their pillow. Given their relative lack of authority, anyone who is Gung Holier Than Thou is merely an annoyance. Often emphasizes his or her lack of authority with loud voice, insults, yelling, complaining to superiors or representing themselves as specially skilled. A temporary annoyance if only visiting, like Col. Flagg. A Gung Holier Than Thou can become too much of an annoyance and end up ReassignedToAntarctica.

This trope is omnipresent in armies based on {{conscription}} where young conscript NCOs are ''assumed'' to be this way. GungHolierThanThou is the SisterTrope to TheNeidermayer - the former is more likely to be a low-ranker such as non-commissioned officer, while the latter is likely to be in a higher position, such as a commissioned officer.

Any military setting is bound to have at least one person who is Gung Holier Than Thou: a [[TheNeidermeyer Neidermeyer]] with little, if any, authority. Typically a non-commissioned officer who likely sleeps with a copy of their force's code of conduct under their pillow. Given their relative lack of authority, anyone who is Gung Holier Than Thou is merely an annoyance. A temporary annoyance if only visiting, like Col. Flagg. A Gung Holier Than Thou can become too much of an annoyance and end up ReassignedToAntarctica.

* Sgt. Webster to Recon in ''Film/HeartbreakRidge''.

* Sgt. Maj. Dickerson in ''Film/GoodMorningVietnam''.

* Col. Sam Flagg in ''Series/{{Mash}}'', as mentioned.

-> ''"It's your [[TropeNamer gung-holier-than-thou]] attitude."''