[P-Marlowe]

I think he may have a fighting chance on the issue of whether or not his order to deploy is lawful. If the war was a declared war authorized by an act of Congress, then whether or not Obama is eligible for the office would be irrelevant unless the specific order was signed by Obama.

OTOH, if the war is a continuation of a deployment of troops ordered by an ineligible president and not specifically authorized as a declared war by an act of Congress, then any deployment would, as a matter of law, be an illegal deployment, and by his oath as an officer, Larkin would have a duty to disobey that order. In this case Larkin is asking the military to confirm Obama’s eligibility before he deploys. I think such a request is not only reasonable, but it is essential.

[ColdWater]

OTOH, if the war is a continuation of a deployment of troops ordered by an ineligible president

Isn't this a continuation of a campaign started by an eligible President Bush?

[xzins]

Congress authorized both offensive military actions. Neither are declared “wars”, but the Congress, and apparently by their silence, the Scotus, has recognized that Congress can authorize ongoing offensive military actions by other than formal declarations of war.

I’m assuming they see this as an update to the “letters of marque and reprisal” that the Constitution also sees as authorizations of offensive military actions on a “less than war” basis. In this case, the congressional authorizations of the Iraq and Afghan wars were unanimous or nearly so and actually date back to Sep 19, 2001.

I think LTC Lakin is best served by an appeal to post-deployment stress and the mercy of the court. He’s been end-arounded, and I don’t see him recovering. I also don’t want to see him hurt. He’s an American hero.

On the other hand, I was a career military chaplain and not a lawyer. Jagusafr, though, was a higher-level military lawyer. I’d really trust his judgment on this one.

[old republic]

If the war was a declared war authorized by an act of Congress, then whether or not Obama is eligible for the office would be irrelevant unless the specific order was signed by Obama.

Any orders that came from people appointed by Obama like the Secretary of the Army/Joint Chiefs, or Secretary of Defense would be illegal too since those individuals can only be appointed by a legal president. Also, any orders issued by officers who were promoted/given their commands or even their commissions by Obama would also be invalid if Obama is ineligible.