It's a tactic used on your subordinates, on people you don't like, or both. Or are you asking if I found people who did this annoying? Because if you are, the answer is "not always". I could truly admire a person for their capacity for assholishness, but that entailed that they weren't just great at it, but they were equal opportunity haters. I never treated people this way as a means of getting them to seek my approval. Then again, there were others who did this to pick on people because they were insecure, or because they were petty, and I did not respect those people. I was actually pretty mellow as a leader, if you pulled your weight and did what was expected of you, you and I would have no problems and I'd treat you like a man. But if you didn't do what was expected of you and therefore made me divert my time and energy towards making sure you were doing what you were supposed to be doing, I would make your life a living hell on top of treating you like a child. Not because I was an asshole, it's just how things work in the military, and usually the type of idiot (not that people in the military are idiots, but things are very binary in the military, you're either smart or an idiot, there's no in-between) that joins will only respond to this type of treatment.