A soldier takes an oath to the Constitution not to the President. That being said, you are correct, if he’s got a problem with order, resign and take your gripes to the press and public.
McChrystal can do a lot more damage out of the military then he can in. A bunch of interviews and a good book will go a long way to take care of Zero.
So the oath is in fact an oath of duty to the office of the Presidency, insofar as the individual serving that role is fulfilling his Constitutional duty and issuing lawful orders.
Not entirely accurate. Upon receiving his Commission, each US officer swears the following:
"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
Any officer who feels he cannot abide by the terms of this oath should resign his Commission immediately. There have been plenty of times when civilian leaders have made terrible -- sometimes even ruinous military decisions. Before Obama there was Clinton, Carter and LBJ. Even Lincoln, who was in many ways a great President, meddled in military strategy with often disastrous results. Yet the Army stayed loyal, because the Republic could not survive if it weren't. When one of Lincoln's top Generals, George McClellan, decided he couldn't follow Lincoln's orders, he resigned his Commission and ran for President against him in 1864.
Not entirely accurate. Upon receiving his Commission, each US officer swears the following:
"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
Any officer who feels he cannot abide by the terms of this oath should resign his Commission immediately. There have been plenty of times when civilian leaders have made terrible -- sometimes even ruinous military decisions. Before Obama there was Clinton, Carter and LBJ. Even Lincoln, who was in many ways a great President, meddled in military strategy with often disastrous results. Yet the Army stayed loyal, because the Republic could not survive if it weren't. When one of Lincoln's top Generals, George McClellan, decided he couldn't follow Lincoln's orders, he resigned his Commission and ran for President against him in 1864.