14 upvotes, 7 direct replies (showing 7)
The thing is that even if they purge the generals unlawful orders will not be followed because of how the military is structured. In basic we had an entire class on lawful and unlawful orders.
Also, in the class, the instructor told us that we would hear civilians say stuff that we wouldn't agree with, but it is their First Amendment right to say it and we will protect their right to do it.
Comment by SparklingPseudonym at 02/12/2024 at 06:17 UTC
48 upvotes, 3 direct replies
This naive, optimistic, “things will work out” way of thinking is how we got to where we are today. They take advantage of this and proceed on. Wars are lost to apathy.
Comment by Parking_Abalone_1232 at 02/12/2024 at 09:50 UTC
12 upvotes, 2 direct replies
My sweet summer child. There are a lot of people in the military that will willingly, happily and with great gusto follow those orders.
Comment by Exodys03 at 03/12/2024 at 01:11 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I genuinely hope you're right and I think that the vast majority of folks in the military simply want to do what's right and lawful. How though do they distinguish the right and lawful thing to do if their Commander in Chief is issuing an unlawful order? What if their top officers are fired and replaced with solely MAGA loyalists who then issue unlawful orders?
Do you see what I'm saying? When the definition of right and lawful is muddied by those in charge, how do military personnel respond? My fear is that the default response from most would be to follow orders as they are trained to do and we've seen episodes in history where simply following orders has taken people to very dark places.
Comment by Feelings_of_Disdain at 02/12/2024 at 21:32 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Dude I was pressured to obey minor unlawful orders by Colonels just as an E5. And sometimes I was chastised by leadership for not folding because it doesn’t “reflect well”. The military, especially the officer core and enlisted leadership, are full of people who deliver and obey unlawful orders on a daily basis. The entire military might not give in unilaterally, but there will be enough exceptions due to political pressure in key positions to cause damage and escalate a crisis. Once people are panicked, it gets even easier to manipulate young troops into unlawful actions. We have failsafes but might also be fucked.
Comment by DoggoCentipede at 04/12/2024 at 04:22 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I genuinely hope you're correct, that the strength of institutions and honor of the armed forces will be enough to prevent this. I do worry about concentrating "true believers", for want of a better term, into a single command and move non-loyalists out of the US as much as is possible.
I also do not look forward to the possibility of kids being forced to disobey illegal orders when some of them are going along with it and the potential consequences of that.
This is not to say I think this is likely, but anxiety has a way of taking over the imagination.
Comment by [deleted] at 04/12/2024 at 18:37 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Personal view is that it'll be like cops, and I don't trust a cop to do the right thing either.
Comment by Affectionate-Bus-931 at 05/12/2024 at 20:26 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Are you dumb? The military will obey Trump like a lap dog. When Trump embeds his cronies.