You cite guard duty, but guard duty is a special circumstance. Guard duty comes with its own special instructions- in your case you point out that not even a commanding general was allowed entry to nuke installation. Fair enough, but it isn't like that on every guard post because they all have their own special instructions. On many guard duty situations a soldier would be expected to recognise his own chain of command and to allow them access to what he was doing. Each situation is unique so I don't think guard duty is a useful situation to use as an example.
But I'll give you a different situation. A common one. Your company gets a new commander. By what authority do you begin following his directives? I mean, you're just Private Joe Snuffy. How do you know he's actually your new commander? If you're a private, you don't just go up and start asking your captain for ID. You don't ask a Light Colonel to inspect his documents.
The way you know is- 1) it is announced in an official way (i.e. the orders are read out loud) and 2) there is a ceremony where the outgoing commander physically hands the command over to the incoming one. It is a short ceremony and one in which the entire unit excepting detailed soldiers attend. The outgoing guy hands the unit guide-on (flag) to the battalion commander, and he hands it to the incoming guy. Then he usually gives a little speech, the troops get reviewed and everybody's off to the motorpool to sweep up oil spots.
The point being- these things have actually happened in Obama's case. There was an election. Obama won. He was announced publicly as the new president. There was an official, constitutionally mandated, swearing in ceremony and he took over the duties of the office.
So, in answer to the bit I put in italics at the start of this post... I think an officer should question the legality when it is reasonable to do so. When he has a reasonable and legitimate belief that the person giving the order has no constitutional authority to do so.
Personally, by the accepted norms of Army life and conduct, I don't believe Cook has a reasonable cause to disobey his orders. He is acting on a reactionary idea that the President has hidden his documents from the public in order to illegaly become president. I just don't think the 'evidence' supports a reasonable cause to disobey. If it did, you could disobey any time anybody on the internet created so much as a rumour that the CinC was not legit.
This is my opinion.
The case has not been brought or decided. Many people and much money have been used to ensure the issue never gets a proper hearing. I would even be satisfied if it was done privately. If it were legally possible to hold a closed Supreme Court session and examine the documents as to Obama's qualification under the constitution I would be satisfied (although I'm sure many would cry foul). But I do want it settled.
Major Cook never disobeyed any order!
He used his Constitutional rights to get a clarification that he would have to obey an order from a legit CiC which is his duty according to his conscious!!
I think we are very many who believe that PINO is NOT a legit CiC!!!
Here’s where I think the army screwed up with Cook (and I think you can get behind me on this): Cook questioned the legality of the order - the military said, “Fine, you aren’t going.” and left it at that.
They never addressed the actual accusation. They didn’t say, “Hey, guy! This guy is your president now get over it. The orders are legal.” They didn’t do *anything* to deal with the actual problem. They just dropped him. (Then went and violated the crap out of the Whistle Blower’s Law and got him fired, but that’s for another lawsuit.)
The military didn’t act like the *military* at all in this process.
Seriously, Son - when have you ever seen the Pentagon act so “cute”? Have you *ever* seen them behave in such a vindictive manner? Seen them bounce around a legal issue instead of addressing it? I don’t know everything about the ins and outs of the military legal system, but this just doesn’t seem real to me.
It’s obvious to every thinking person in this country that by not addressing Cook’s accusations one way or another, the Pentagon left a wide open door for anyone to stroll through.
I think that you and I are actually on the same side here. I agree with you that this is *very* dangerous and that something should have been done. We’re just disagreeing on the “what”.