Dangerous war games: Telling servicemembers to resist Trump invites pure chaos

A caller viral video circulating connected societal media features six Democratic lawmakers informing U.S. work members to "refuse amerciable orders" from President Donald Trump. As FoxNews.com reported,  "The one-minute video, posted by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and viewed much than 1.6 cardinal times, features six lawmakers invoking their anterior work portion telling members of the subject and quality assemblage that ‘the threats to our Constitution are coming from close present astatine home.’ 

It is dramatic, ominous, and delivered with an aerial of solemn responsibility. But it fails the astir basal trial of enactment and legality: It doesn’t mention a azygous amerciable bid — past, present, oregon anticipated. Not one.

SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO 'REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS' IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS

The lawmakers who look successful the video — Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Reps. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa. — thin heavy connected their subject oregon nationalist information backgrounds. 

Their halfway connection is stark: "If thing is illegal, you tin garbage it. You indispensable garbage it." The accusation is unmistakable: The commandant successful main is poised to contented unlawful orders, and U.S. troops should hole to defy him. Yet, erstwhile pressed publicly, nary of the lawmakers has produced a azygous illustration of an unlawful bid oregon cited immoderate statute that the president has allegedly violated.

This is governmental theatre masquerading arsenic subject morals — and it’s dangerously irresponsible.

I accidental this arsenic idiosyncratic who has spent his beingness wrong the subject profession. I served arsenic an Airborne Ranger infantry serviceman successful 4 U.S. Army divisions connected 3 continents. I aboriginal spent much than 20 years arsenic a contractor connected the Army Staff, moving connected operations and planetary information cooperation. While successful uniform, I besides served arsenic an inspector wide astatine the Pentagon, investigating allegations of superior ethical misconduct crossed our Army. 

Members of the Army National Guard successful formation. (U.S. Army National Guard photograph by Spc. Matthew A. Foster)

As an Army large astatine Fort Benning’s Infantry Center, I was the pb teacher for enactment and morals — specifically teaching young officers however to separate betwixt lawful and unlawful orders and however to uphold their law responsibilities successful our enactment signifier of government.

DEM VETERANS BREAK SILENCE AFTER VIRAL VIDEO CAUSES BACKLASH ON SOCIAL MEDIA: 'FRUSTRATED'

From that perspective, the connection successful this video is not a nationalist work — it’s a governmental provocation. It seeks to framework regular chain-of-command obedience arsenic inherently fishy and to information soldiers to presume that orders from this president are presumptively unlawful. That’s not ethics. It’s partisanship.

Let’s beryllium wide astir the existent standard. Every U.S. work subordinate has an implicit work to garbage a intelligibly amerciable order. This rule is profoundly rooted successful the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Law of Armed Conflict, and the Nuremberg precedent. Orders to perpetrate warfare crimes — specified arsenic deliberately targeting civilians — indispensable beryllium refused. This is not controversial; it’s taught successful basal training, ROTC, West Point, OCS, and each nonrecreational subject acquisition people crossed the force.

But the presumption wrong the assemblage of arms — the bedrock of steadfast civil-military relations — is obedience to lawful orders issued done the concatenation of command. Civilian power of the subject depends connected it. Without that discipline, the American republic cannot function. The infinitesimal troops statesman treating governmental disagreements arsenic ineligible violations, subject collapses and the subject becomes an arbitrator of home politics.

SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO 'REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS' IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS

That’s the existent information of this video: It introduces uncertainty into the minds of inferior work members wherever clarity is required. It encourages troops to construe governmental rhetoric arsenic ineligible reality. It bypasses the established processes — Judge Advocate General counsel, inspector wide channels, bid ineligible advisers — that already beryllium to code immoderate questionable orders. The video doesn’t notation those institutions due to the fact that its intent isn’t to fortify ineligible integrity but to undermine assurance successful a peculiar commandant successful main –- President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump and archetypal woman Melania Trump be a ceremonial to commemorate the 24th day of the 9/11 attacks, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, astatine the Pentagon successful Washington.  (AP/Evan Vucci)

There’s besides a statutory concern. Federal instrumentality — specifically 18 U.S.C. § 2387 — prohibits attempts to undermine the loyalty, morale oregon subject of America’s equipped forces. Members of Congress person wide latitude successful their speech, but erstwhile they explicitly pass work members — not the public, not different lawmakers, but troops — to brace for perchance unlawful statesmanlike orders without citing a azygous unlawful act, they measurement into a grey portion our Founders ne'er intended elected officials to enter.

This messaging besides weaponizes subject credentials for partisan purposes. These lawmakers talk arsenic veterans, subtly suggesting that "real professionals" already judge this president is simply a danger. But veterans don’t clasp corporate governmental views, and anterior work doesn’t springiness anyone — members of Congress oregon different — the authorization to prejudge the legitimacy of aboriginal subject orders.

If these lawmakers genuinely judge a circumstantial argumentation oregon directive is unconstitutional — beryllium it borderline operations, counter-cartel actions oregon overseas deployments — they person the tools of Congress astatine their disposal. They tin constitute legislation, clasp hearings, restrict funding, subpoena witnesses oregon situation enforcement actions successful court. What they cannot ethically bash is lobby the troops straight to defy the commandant successful main based connected hypothetical misconduct.

America’s subject remains the astir trusted instauration successful the federation precisely due to the fact that it stays retired of partisan politics. That self-discipline isn’t automatic; it requires elected leaders to refrain from dragging the subject into statesmanlike disputes. Undermining that rule for governmental vantage is reckless.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The work to disobey intelligibly amerciable orders is real. But the greater work — the 1 that preserves our law bid — is obedience to lawful authority, careless of which enactment holds the Oval Office. Politicians who blur that favoritism aren’t safeguarding democracy; they’re eroding it.

Our troops merit clarity, not chaos. Our law strategy depends connected civilian control, not partisan interference. And American leaders — particularly those who erstwhile wore the azygous — should cognize better.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ROBERT MAGINNIS