The U.S. Military Is Not Ready for a Constitutional Crisis

Good article. The man makes a very valid argument. Too bad it will be ignored.

The author seems to not know anything about the 1LT Lorance incident and the subsequent trial, other than what his glowing panel told him to think. 1LT Lorance was defending his unit from enemy scouts/FOs who had succeeded in killing the previous platoon leader and several of his troops. The nine troops who testified against him were coerced into doing so by a government that wanted 1LT Lorance to serve as an example. This type of slanted reporting turns me off, and decreases the author's credibility in my mind.

But to the topic, it is true that American troops are not well-versed in the Constitution and what their Oath to support and defend it means. At the very least, troops should know and understand the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10). Most troops never get any type of legal briefing either. The only exception to this rule I ever saw was while at OCS in 2010. We had a lecture by a JAG Officer who covered illegal orders and how to deal with them. She also dispelled a few myths, including the one that says you can't shoot an enemy with a .50cal (you can if that's the weapon you have in hand). Reacting to a perceived unlawful order is a minefield at best, especially if one is not well versed in the Law of Land Warfare. We were advised to respectfully request the issuing officer to restate the order, clarify his/her intent of the order, and then if it still seems like an illegal order, respectfully refuse. We were also advised to start documenting the 5 Ws, and getting witness names, then comply with the order so as to not heap "insubordination" to any potential legal repercussions afterward (assuming you survive long enough). But all of this brief training is apparently only given to Officer Candidates.

The US Military would do well to train ALL it's troops on the Constitution and the Oath of Enlistment (or Appointment) and the connection between them. Then perhaps troops wouldn't be at a loss should Constitutional versus military order questions arise. Or perhaps the US Military doesn't WANT troops to be able to reason things out... Just be good cogs in the machine....

Yep. This is a constant problem and no pay grade is immune. How many of us ignorantly *think* we know what’s in the Constitution or assume we know what’s in it? It’s basically no different than when people think and assume, thereby “KNOWING” a regulation or instruction. We joke about senior NCOs doing this but it isn’t just them doing it. To borrow form Justice Scalia: it says what it says and it doesn’t day what it doesn’t say. Pocket copies of our founding documents is a good start. Formal instruction is even better. But! Adding a block to professional development courses adds time, and by extension, costs money. And since it isn’t sexy.....