I have read/listened to this book multiple times throughout my military career and highly recommend others to do the same. I would say there’s a couple ways to view this: 1) how few men stood up against what they knew to be morally wrong right away; 2) how it took some men experiencing the horrors of what orders they carried out before they realized it was wrong; and 3) how many men blindly followed orders regardless of how morally wrong.
Time and time again we see examples of poor leadership and how people abuse power to force others to conform to policy, follow orders blindly, or demands and how few people stand up for their moral convictions regardless of the consequences.
Throughout my career I have asked many members in leadership rolls if they have read this book (and a few other good ones), based on how good or bad they are as leaders I usually know the answer before they say anything. Almost all the time the good ones have read this and the terrible ones have not. This book really does have a lasting effect on those who have read it and really understand the importance of the message.