Dias: I've never seen a general so beloved of his men.
Bothos: Well, in training he is our scholar, at the feast he is our father, in the ranks he is our brother, and in battle he is the god we pray to save our souls.
[...]
Septus: He's a ruthless, reckless bastard. And I'd die for him without hesitation.
"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."
— Sun Tzu
Ace: "Why do you guys call him 'Pops'...?"
Marco: "Because he calls us 'sons'. The world hates us for what we are, you know? So it makes us happy. Even if it's just a word...it still makes us happy!"
Marco: "Because he calls us 'sons'. The world hates us for what we are, you know? So it makes us happy. Even if it's just a word...it still makes us happy!"
"Even the biggest fool on my ship is still my son."
— Whitebeard, One Piece
"I have a reputation, Modile, a reputation as a fair, honest man who treats his soldiers well and supports them in the face of darkness. Potentially, that reputation makes me soft. It seems I understand failure and forgive it. Some, like Kowle, believe me to be a weak commissar, not prepared to take the action my rank demands. Not prepared to enforce field discipline where I see it failing. I am an Imperial commissar. I will enflame the weak, support the wavering, guide the lost. I will be all things to all men who need me. But I will also punish without hesitation the weak, the incompetent, and the treasonous."
— Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, Warhammer 40,000: Gaunt's Ghosts
"The worst part about being a good officer is the faces. A bad officer doesn't remember the faces when he sees the names on the lists. Maybe that's why good officers are so damn hard to find."
— GDI Battle Commander Alexander Karrde, Tiberium Wars
"You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every minute of every day. As Chief of Security, it is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed... not with all of you."
— Colonel Miles Quaritch, Avatar
Thania: You served a full tour with Space Commander Travis, didn't you?
Par: Five years. He was hard...
Thania: ...But fair?
Par: No, not often, anyway. But you could always rely on him not to get you killed unnecessarily. He never wasted troopers.
Thania: Oh, that's something, I suppose.
Commander Adama: You can quote me whatever regulations you like. I am not letting you execute my men.
Admiral Cain: I highly suggest you reconsider that statement, Commander. (...) Commander. Why are you launching Vipers?
Commander Adama: Please arrange for Chief Tyrol and Lieutenant Agathon to be handed over to my marines as soon as they arrive.
Admiral Cain: I don't take orders from you.
Commander Adama: Call it whatever you like. I'm getting my men.
Admiral Cain: You are making such a mistake.
Commander Adama: I'm getting my men.
—Battlestar Galactica, Pegasus (2x10)
I've seen it manifest itself in most curious ways, as when the seven-year-old daughter of Sergeant Allison was taking a ballet examination in Edinburgh—and there, just before it began, was the Colonel, in tweeds and walking-stick, just looking in, you understand, to see that all was in order, gallantly chatting up the young instructresses in their leotards, playing the genial old buffer and missing nothing, and then giving the small and tremulous Miss Allison a wink and a growling whisper before stalking off to his car. The fact was, the man was as nervous as her parents, because she was part of his regimental family. "He'll be there at the Last Judgement," the M.O. once said, "cadging a light off St. Peter so that he can whisper, 'This is one of my Jocks coming in, by the way ...'"
Not for nothing was he 'Uncle Bill' ... he had the head of a general with the heart of a private soldier. ... British soldiers don't love their commanders, much less worship them; Fourteenth Army trusted Slim and thought of him as one of themselves, and perhaps his real secret was that the feeling was mutual.
— George MacDonald Fraser, on Bill Slim, Quartered Safe Out Here
Big Boss: You came to save me? You didn't even know I was still alive. Why'd you put yourselves in danger like that?
Soldier: Because you're our boss!
Xerxes: It isn't wise to stand against me, Leonidas. Imagine what horrible fate awaits my enemies when I would gladly kill any of my own men for victory.
King Leonidas: And I would die for any one of mine.
King Leonidas: And I would die for any one of mine.
— 300
"You are my little lads and I will look after you."
— Seargent Jackrum (to the new recruits), Monstrous Regiment
"I won't scatter your sorrow to the heartless sea. I will always be with you. Plant your roots in me. I won't see you end as ashes. You're all diamonds."
— Punished Snake, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
"I love you all as if you were my children."
—Ulysses S. Grant, final message to the Union veterans
Gaz: What are they to you? Why do you even care?
Kaladin: They're my men.
Kaladin: They're my men.
— The Way of Kings (2010) (first book of The Stormlight Archive)
"Each man who wears my colors is of my family, in a way. The cloak is a simple gift, but it is one of the few things I can offer that has any meaning. Accept it with my gratitude, Kaladin Stormblessed."
— Dalinar Kholin, The Way of Kings (2010) (first book of The Stormlight Archive)
Kengarff: I'm sorry about Commander Teff, sir.
Commodore Shufgar: He was like a son to me.
Kengarff: Sir... You plucked his eye out with a spoon when the prisoners escaped.
Commodore Shufgar: Let that be a warning to the rest of my family.
Commodore Shufgar: He was like a son to me.
Kengarff: Sir... You plucked his eye out with a spoon when the prisoners escaped.
Commodore Shufgar: Let that be a warning to the rest of my family.
Captain Flowers: If I wasn't your commanding officer, I would pick you both up, give you a giant bear hug, and make you call me daddy.
Church: Uhhh... thank god for the chain of command?
Church: Uhhh... thank god for the chain of command?
Plo Koon: Sergeant, why are you so certain no one is coming?
Sergeant Sinker: We're just clones, sir. We're meant to be expendable.
Plo Koon: Not to me.
Sergeant Sinker: We're just clones, sir. We're meant to be expendable.
Plo Koon: Not to me.
Starscream: (To Galvatron) I tried to gain favor from you, but nothing was ever good enough. No matter how many battles I fought you always found fault, but then I saw how Optimus treated his men, and I realized he was a leader of integrity... unlike you.
"With all due respect Admiral, I didn't represent one of your people, I represented one of mine."
— Commander Shepard, Mass Effect 2
M. de Treville was the father of his soldiers. The lowest or the least known of them, as soon as he assumed the uniform of the company, was as sure of his aid and support as if he had been his own brother.
— The Three Musketeers, Chapter 15
"O King," replied the monkey, "I am their chief and their guide. They lived with me in this tree, and I was their father and I loved them. I do not suffer in leaving this world for I have gained my subjects' freedom. And if my death may be a lesson to you, then I am more than happy. It is not your sword that makes you a king; it is love alone. Forget not that your life is but little to give if in giving you secure the happiness of your people. Rule them not through power because they are your subjects; nay, rule them through love because they are your children. In this way only you shall be king."
"The Monkey-bridge", from Twenty Jataka Tales, by Noor Inayat Khan.
"My men are not expendable."
—Dutch, Predator
Auda abu Tayi: I am Auda abu Tayi! Does Auda serve?
The Howeitat: NO!
Auda abu Tayi: Does Auda abu Tayi serve?
The Howeitat: NO!
Auda abu Tayi: I carry twenty-three great wounds, all got in battle. Seventy-five men have I killed with my own hands in battle. I scatter, I burn my enemies' tents. I take away their flocks and herds. The Turks pay me a golden treasure, yet I am poor! BECAUSE I AM A RIVER TO MY PEOPLE!
"Y'all gotta look at the bigger picture here. Nothing worth fighting for was ever won without sacrifice. Though you may not be crying out, I know you're in pain, just like the planet. But it's okay, cause I'm here for you! To help take the load off your shoulders! Your fears... Your worries... Your concerns... And yes, your fees... Whatever your problem, I got you."
— Barret Wallace to the Avalanche Trio and Cloud, Final Fantasy VII Remake
Giovanni: You can't just take a minion's hard work!
Bugsy: Can't? Whatever are you talking about?
Arnold: Your hard work is all for us! After all, minions are just tools.
Giovanni: You shut your jowls! Minions are the heart and soul of villainy! A bad guy is only as good as his underlings! It doesn't matter what his rank is!
Bugsy: Can't? Whatever are you talking about?
Arnold: Your hard work is all for us! After all, minions are just tools.
Giovanni: You shut your jowls! Minions are the heart and soul of villainy! A bad guy is only as good as his underlings! It doesn't matter what his rank is!
Soldiers of my Old Guard! After twenty years, I have come... to say... goodbye! France has fallen, so remember me! Though I love you all, I cannot embrace you all. [walks to the flag of Napoleonic France and kisses it] With this kiss, remember me! Goodbye, my soldiers! Goodbye, my sons!
— Napoleon Bonaparte, bidding farewell to his Old Guard, Waterloo
"How do you lead them so easily?"
"They give me what I need."
"They give me what I need."
— Lions Share
, a Persona 5 fic
, a Persona 5 fic