Posted: Jun 19, 2011 8:23 pm
The_Metatron wrote:Zwaarddijk wrote:The_Metatron wrote:
While I agree with that doctrine loosely, I think this is breaking down in where, precisely, in the military this sort of challenge should come from. Lt. Joe Blow is certainly not in a position to even affect policy making. This is the duty of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Field grade officers simply do not get to pick and choose their assignments. Nor should they.
Wasn't it already established though that every soldier is required to disobey every illegal order? If so, field grade officers should opt out if they consider an assignment illegal, no?
No. An assignment, or orders to move, are not unlawful orders. This particular liutenant wasn't ordered to do anything unlawful at all. He was ordered to move with his unit. A lawful order which he refused.
Uhm, by international law, it's quite possible it's illegal for him to move to that place. (As most countries don't grant personnel of other countries' armed forces visas or anything like that just like that!) It's not clear that moving there was lawful.