The news was met with bewilderment and wide-eyed worry among many in Washington, as Trump passed on a number of established national security heavy-hitters.

President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military.

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  • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    8 days ago

    It’s generally called a “duty to disobey,” and is empowered by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The UCMJ is more concerned about the need to obey orders, but specifies the conditions when military personnel may feel justified in not following them:

    If the order is “contrary to the constitution” or “the laws of the United States.”

    If the order is “patently illegal, … such as one that directs the commission of a crime.”

    https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/what-is-a-military-duty-to-disobey/

    • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      0·
      8 days ago

      Appreciate it, I remember reading many years ago that after WW2, most countries agreed to sign into law that soldiers were legally obligated to disobey unlawful orders and report the person who gave the order to their superiors, but that the US was one of the nations that didn’t.

      But a quick search brings up nothing but articles talking about what you posted, so I can’t find any info on it. I wonder if in other countries it’s enshrined outside of military law, and that’s the distinction? I have no clue.