Sergeant Rock: Difference between revisions

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Named for the [[DC Comics]] character who first appeared in 1958. Rock served in the European Theater of Operations, was known for keeping his head in the ugliest situations, and for [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|growling a lot of gung-ho sound bites]]. His page is [[Sgt. Rock|here]].

[[Sergeant Rock]] is what [[The Neidermeyer]] dreams he is. However, [[Sergeant Rock]] differs from [[The Neidermeyer]] in that he may be a bully and a blowhard, but he gets the job done while ''never'' ordering his troops to do anything he would not be willing to do himself, and thus the troops respect him, while not necessarily being too fond of him personally.

'''Sergeant Rock''' is what [[The Neidermeyer]] dreams he is. However, '''Sergeant Rock''' differs from [[The Neidermeyer]] in that he may be a bully and a blowhard, but he gets the job done while ''never'' ordering his troops to do anything he would not be willing to do himself, and thus the troops respect him, while not necessarily being too fond of him personally.

If [[The Squad]] is only the size of a squad, he may be the man in charge. Otherwise, he's either helping [[Ensign Newbie]] learn the ropes, or making sure whatever [[Colonel Badass]] needs done ''gets'' done (sometimes both). Whatever the situation, you can be sure [[Sergeant Rock]] is right in the middle of the firefight, whatever the odds, and whatever ordnance is being tossed around.

If [[The Squad]] is only the size of a squad, he may be the man in charge. Otherwise, he's either helping [[Ensign Newbie]] learn the ropes, or making sure whatever [[Colonel Badass]] needs done ''gets'' done (sometimes both). Whatever the situation, you can be sure '''Sergeant Rock''' is right in the middle of the firefight, whatever the odds, and whatever ordnance is being tossed around.

Has a very, ''very'' high chance of being [[Made of Iron]].

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*** Gunnery SGT Bass is a more appropriate persona for SGT rock.

* ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' positively ''revels'' in this trope, with [[Loads and Loads of Characters|many examples]], including the one of the most memorable Sergeant Rocks around -- {{spoiler|Sir}} [[Anti-Hero|Horace]] [[Big Brother Mentor|Harkness]].

* In the ''[[Phule's Company]]'' series, there's a sergeant who literally changed his name, appearance and accent just to emulate the perfect British Sergeant-~~Major-- and~~ he's not even British.

* In the ''[[Phule's Company]]'' series, there's a sergeant who literally changed his name, appearance and accent just to emulate the perfect British Sergeant-Major—and he's not even British.

* ''The Mercenary'' and its sequels, set in the [[CoDominium]] universe, has Sergeant Major Calvin, right-hand man to soldier-turned-[[Private Military Contractors|mercenary]] [[Colonel Badass]] John Christian Falkenberg.

* Master Chief Petty Officer Tenn Graneet, head gunner on the [[Death Star]], was like this to his men. He wasn't a bad boss at all provided that they did their jobs well.

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* [[Dale Brown]] books have [[Ranger]] Sergeant Major Ray Jefferson and [[Semper Fi|Marine Corps]] now-Master Sergeant Chris Wohl, who won't take any nonsense from their officers.

* Colonel TR Steele of the ''[[Tour of the Merrimack]]'' series. Not kind, not polite, but definitely the person you want watching your back when fighting a [[Horde of Alien Locusts]].

* Gretchen was something of a [[Sergeant Rock]] to the other camp followers in ''[[1632]]''.

* Gretchen was something of a Sergeant Rock to the other camp followers in ''[[1632]]''.

* Valiar Marcus from ''[[Codex Alera]]'' is a somewhat odd example of this trope, because {{spoiler|In addition to being an experienced centurion and managing to be given "Valient" as his actual legal name, he's also Fidelius Ex Cursor, a spy}}

* Jubal Branch in the ''Company Z'' series by [[J. T. Edson]].

** And Billy Jack from the ''Civil War'' series.

* Alaric the Grey Knight is promoted after the [[Grey Knights|first novel]], but he starts as ~~Justicar -- their~~ analog of Sergeant. He is little bit more low-key than the trope's standard too. {{spoiler|While he gets to be Acting Brother-Captain at the end of the first book, afterwards he is returned to the rank of Justicar. This was because the higher ups distrusted his unusually imaginative and curious mind.}}

* Alaric the Grey Knight is promoted after the [[Grey Knights|first novel]], but he starts as Justicar—their analog of Sergeant. He is little bit more low-key than the trope's standard too. {{spoiler|While he gets to be Acting Brother-Captain at the end of the first book, afterwards he is returned to the rank of Justicar. This was because the higher ups distrusted his unusually imaginative and curious mind.}}

* Major Rawne in [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] is an officer, but fulfills the trope perfectly: he is a ruthless and manipulative bastard who has told his commanding officer (a [[Colonel Badass]]) to his face that he intends to kill him, turns his top subordinate into an even more ruthless killing machine, and ran a black market before joining the Imperial Guard, yet is highly respected by his subordinates and his squad is considered one of the Ghosts' deadliest units.

** Most of the Ghosts fit this trope to some extent. Corbec, despite being a Colonel, is well loved by the men and is always in the thick of the fighting. Other's who fit the trope are pretty much any of the Sergeants (Especially Mkoll) and most of the captains (especially Kolea).

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== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' has them in ~~droves -- after~~ all, while the usual ''modus operandi'' of Imperium's armed forces in [[We Have Reserves]], the world around is ''so'' [[Crapsack World|dangerous]] that you need NCOs to keep their heads level.

* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' has them in droves—after all, while the usual ''modus operandi'' of Imperium's armed forces in [[We Have Reserves]], the world around is ''so'' [[Crapsack World|dangerous]] that you need NCOs to keep their heads level.

** Gunnery Sergeant Harker of the Catachan Devils is one tough bastard, known for hauling around a Heavy Bolter [[I Call It Vera|that he calls "Payback"]].

** Colour Sergeant Jerran Kell of the Cadian 8th serves as the loyal bodyguard of Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed and makes sure that the men under the Castellan's command obey his orders to the letter.

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== Webcomics ==

* ''[[Cry Havoc]]'''s Karcharoth is [[The Stoic]] outside of battle, but changes distinctly into a [[Sergeant Rock]] when the lead starts flying.

* ''[[Cry Havoc]]'''s Karcharoth is [[The Stoic]] outside of battle, but changes distinctly into a Sergeant Rock when the lead starts flying.

* The late General Esteban from ''[[A Loonatics Tale]]'' was such an outstanding military officer in general that, even though he lacked the capacity to address his men in any tone but "enraged bellow", he was beloved and well-respected by the men and women under his command, and in death is well-regarded by ''both'' sides of a bitter war during which he served.

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== Real Life ==

* Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller, the legendary United States Marine Corps officer whose service would take him from Haiti and Nicaragua, to the bloody Pacific in World War 2, to the frozen hell of the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. He would earn five Navy Crosses for his service and is, to this day, considered the greatest Marine to have every lived. Known for the famous line: "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." Once he became an officer, he more than qualified as a [[Colonel Badass]], and later, when he became a Marine Corps general, a [[Four-Star Badass]]. He is very much a [[Memetic Badass]] among the Corps and is the example all Marines aspire to.

* The members of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s "Old Guard" could all be considered a [[Sergeant Rock]]. These were men who had spent almost two decades of their lives following Napoleon across all of Europe and kicking the ass of anyone who got in their beloved General's way. Their sheer fighting abilities, loyalty, and veteran status were so respected by Napoleon that they were one of the few military units whose members could openly complain in his presence without rebuke. This led to them being known as ''Les Grognards'' (The Grumblers). They could also be considered an example of the [[Badass Army]].

* The members of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s "Old Guard" could all be considered a Sergeant Rock. These were men who had spent almost two decades of their lives following Napoleon across all of Europe and kicking the ass of anyone who got in their beloved General's way. Their sheer fighting abilities, loyalty, and veteran status were so respected by Napoleon that they were one of the few military units whose members could openly complain in his presence without rebuke. This led to them being known as ''Les Grognards'' (The Grumblers). They could also be considered an example of the [[Badass Army]].

* This is the policy for unit commanders in the Israeli army. The head of the unit is the first guy in and the last guy out.