Your Oath

The oath for military enlisted, military officers, law enforcement and elected officials are all some what different but they all call for the exact same thing. "I, (NAME), 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;" is the same in every oath.


So with that, let us look at our armed forces duties and responsibilities to its oath. In the Uniform Code of Military Justice under Punitive Articles 91 and 92 it states that diciplinary action will be taken if you fail to obey any lawful order(s). So what are unlawful orders?


Rod Powers, a retired Air Force Sargent of 22 years, wrote an article on about.com and told the story of the first officer in the U.S. Armed Forces convicted for obeying an unlawful order. The order was made by President John Adams. He wrote:


"The first recorded case of a United States Military officer using the "I was only following orders" defense dates back to 1799. During the War with France, Congress passed a law making it permissible to seize ships bound to any French Port. However, when President John Adams wrote the order to authorize the U.S. Navy to do so, he wrote that Navy ships were authorized to seize any vessel bound for a French port, or traveling from a French port. Pursuant to the President's instructions, a U.S. Navy captain seized a Danish Ship (the Flying Fish), which was en route from a French Port. The owners of the ship sued the Navy captain in U.S. maritime court for trespass. They won, and the United States Supreme Court upheld the decision. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Navy commanders "act at their own peril" when obeying presidential orders when such orders are illegal."


So as you can see, the Supreme Court set the president for the definition of an unlawful order, and even if made by the Commander-in-Chief, you can still be punished for it. Here is my question? Did President Adams get prosecuted for making an unlawful order. History reveals not. Just remember that, specially during our current troubling times. So an unlawful order is any order that would violate the law. In the case of the Navy Commander he violated UCMJ art. 97 Unlawful Detention, and violating legislation passed by congress to only seize ships bound to any French Port.


Through out U.S. Military history there has been numerous cases of service members following unlawful orders and being punished for it.


It is your sworn duty to refuse and report unlawful orders. Now we have the Whistle Blower Act that protects people from reporting unlawful orders. It is your right.


I will tell you my story. I had a superior that ordered me to have my wife see a psychologist. He literally told me that as a direct order. Now who can tell me what article of the UCMJ that violates? I can give you a few. So what did I do, I reported it to the Navy's Inspector General and exercised my right to be protected under the Whistle Blowers act. Nothing happened to me, I wasn't punished for disobeying a direct order from a superior and I the Inspector General insured that my chain of command could not screw over my career for it. The proper people were reprimanded for it and we move on.


So the moral to this story is that we face the decision to do the right thing. There is a force out there that wants us to do the wrong thing, using us as ponds for global agenda, and it has forced us to do things that are illegal, and one day the world is going to hold us accountable for it, what will you say, "I was just following orders", or will refuse and report it.


In order to support and defend the Constitution of the United States you must first obey it.