I am a soldier on the battlefield, and I am ordered not to attack the enemy. The enemy enters the trench and takes my platoon leader by the throat with a knife, and I blow his a hole in Mohammed's head, saving my Captain. Do I get Courts marshaled for disobeying orders?
Oh, I know, hes guilty of insubordination. Right? He goes to jail?
I say, Hell no, he gets a medal. His captain orders it.
Get real Seq.
Tell you what, here's a real situation for you. I'm a doctor in the Army Reserve. Saddam Huessein invades Kuwait and the President orders my reserve unit mobilized and I am assigned to deploy to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Storm. I am convinced that the war is illegal since no declaration of war was approved by Congress, so I refuse to go in the grounds that any order sending me to an illegal war is an illegal order. Do I have the right to refuse to obey this order until the President proves to my satisfaction that the war is legal and I will not be open to war crimes charges if I participate? Or do I deserve a court martial?
Similar situation. I'm an Army officer on active duty. My unit is ordered to Iraq. I am convinced that the claims of WMDs was a phoney excuse to invade a sovereign nation and that the war is illegal and immoral. Therefore any orders sending me there are illegal and I refuse to deploy with my unit. Do I have the right to refuse to obey any orders on the grounds that they are illegal until such time as the President proves to my satisfaction that the war is indeed legal and legitimate and that my service in the theater will not leave me open to war crimes charges? Or do I deserve a court martial?
Two cases similar to Lakin's. In all three instances the officer in question had doubts about the legality of the orders. In all three instances the officer in question decided that they could decide which orders were valid and which were not. Are all three officers correct? Or do all three deserve court martial?