Helping the military understand their job.

I am going to help you understand your job, and your requirements as the time of truth draws near. Below is the Oath of Enlistment:

"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."


Now that we have the oath here, what orders am I supposed to obey. You can see that you must obey the order of the President and those officer appointed over you. You also see that there is something called the UCMJ  (Uniform Code of Military Justice) and EVERYONE in the military is painfully aware of this code. It clearly states that you must follow ALL orders given to you that are LAWFUL ORDERS.


Below I will make a post about the UCMJ and what it say:


 Military members who fail to obey the lawful orders of their superiors risk serious consequences. Article 90 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) makes it a crime for a military member to WILLFULLY disobey a superior commissioned officer. Article 91 makes it a crime to WILLFULLY disobey a superior Noncommissioned or Warrant Officer. Article 92 makes it a crime to disobey any lawful order (the disobedience does not have to be "willful" under this article). In fact, under Article 90, during times of war, a military member who willfully disobeys a superior commissioned officer can be sentenced to death. Seems like pretty good motivation to obey any order you're given, right? Nope. These articles require the obedience of LAWFUL orders. An order which is unlawful not only does not need to be obeyed, but obeying such an order can result in criminal prosecution of the one who obeys it. Military courts have long held that military members are accountable for their actions even while following orders -- if the order was illegal.


I will try to go into this more in the future to help the youngest of the enlisted force understand what the MUST and MUST NOT do. I also ask that the current NCO's help the younger enlisted understand what an unlawful order is, and how they will be responsible for their actions.