Just a question. Do all the men you cited have the same opinion as you have? If so it points out to me that our military today has various ideas of what service is all about. As a vet of WWII , no combat but was very close to invading Japan and a lone brother killed on Okinawa, I too believe in the sanctioning of obedience to orders down to the buck private. However, the military exigency of my war was not the same as today’s wars insofar as National interest. And above all, then and now, the Constitution of our Nation is above all considerations. As such I can accept someones argument that with due consideration for other obligations they believe that obedience to the Constitution is paramount to any lower level of requirements.
I certainly can’t speak for every soldier and officer who currently serves or who has served. You can see some of the differences on this forum. But, if you were to peruse all of the Lakin threads over the past several years, you will see a pattern that the overwhelming sympathy of professional veterans did not care for Lakin’s political stunt, however much they may have had sympathy for his disgust for the CinC.