A Response to the Video Encouraging Service Members to Disobey Illegal Orders
The success of military operations requires a sufficient level of trust. Each service member must trust that their squadron-mates or platoon-mates or shipmates have their backs and the same applies through the entire chain of command to the Commander-in-chief. During Operation Desert Storm, I relied on that trust. Not only did I trust my squadron-mates and military commanders with my life, but I also trusted our national leaders, all the way up the chain of command to Pres. George H. W. Bush. If I was tasked to take out a target, I took it out. I trusted that the assigned target was legitimate, legal, and of military significance. The widespread trust that existed during Operation Desert Storm enabled one of the swiftest, most decisive and effective military campaigns in U.S. history.
A member of the military tasked with executing an attack on a time-critical target can’t be expected to ensure the target is legitimate. Even if it were possible to receive the information necessary to make that determination there would unlikely be enough time. Service members need to operate in an environment of trust in the chain of command. Likewise, we can’t expect members of a National Guard unit to ensure that a domestic deployment is legal. That would be a more appropriate question for a lawyer who specializes in constitutional law. Again, service members need to operate in an environment of trust in the chain of command. But history is filled with examples where a course of military action was not taken because it was obvious that action was illegal and/or immoral. Unfortunately, history is also filled with tragic examples of orders that were followed (during both Republican and Democratic administrations) where it should have been obvious those actions were illegal and/or immoral. When we fail in those ways it hurts our service members and weakens our nation.
One of the many reasons the U.S. military is the most effective fighting force in the world is that normally we don’t operate outside of the laws and norms of a civilized society. We don’t (or shouldn’t) shoot defenseless pilots descending under parachute from abandoned aircraft nor should we kill defenseless survivors clinging to the wreckage of a sunken boat and who pose no threat. When I served in the military it gave me a sense of pride that these types of things are not what we do as Americans. That sense of pride enabled me to be significantly more effective in combat. Many serving in our nation’s military today do not enjoy that same certainty and trust in leadership. Trust has eroded for many reasons including public statements made by our national leadership.
President Trump has stated publicly that he expects military personnel to follow his orders even if they are unlawful. Pres. Trump’s views on military rule of law such as the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) have been public at least as far back as his first presidential campaign. At the March 3rd, 2016, Republican debate, Fox News correspondent Bret Baier asked Candidate Donald Trump,
“When you ask the U.S. military to carry out some of your campaign promises specifically, targeting terrorist families, and also the use of interrogation methods more extreme than water boarding, the military will refuse because they have been trained to turn down and refuse illegal orders. So, what would you do as Commander-in-chief if the U.S. military refused to carry out those orders?”
There are a lot of ways Donald Trump could have answered that question that demonstrated he respected the military and understood the importance of building trust through the ranks. He could have answered in a way that demonstrated he respected rule of law and that he had the service member’s back. He did none of that. What he did respond with was,
“They won’t refuse! They’re not going to refuse me! Believe me”.
When pushed on his campaign promise to kill the families of terrorists, he went on to say,
“I’m a leader. I’ve always been a leader. I’ve never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they’re going to do it. That’s what leadership is all about.”
The complete question and answer are below
I remember feeling dumbfounded as I watched that exchange live. I couldn’t understand why the other Republican candidates didn’t challenge Donald Trump’s words. I couldn’t believe that no one responded with, did you hear what he just said? He is going to issue illegal orders to the military that he expects to be followed. He sees the military as a tool to support his objectives even if those objectives are illegal and immoral. Since then Pres. Trump has continued to make public statements which indicate a reluctance to abide by military rule of law.
Adding to the Commander-in-chief’s publicly stated views regarding military rule of law are Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth publicly expressed views. In a chapter titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers” in his 2024 book “The War on Warriors” Sec. Hegseth questions whether we should follow the Geneva Conventions at all. The Geneva Conventions which have been in place since 1949 are designed to protect those who are not, or are no longer, participating in hostilities, including the wounded and sick, prisoners of war, and civilians. Hegseth argues that following the Geneva Convention is like fighting with one arm tied behind our back, proposing instead to communicate to combatants things like, “If you surrender, we might spare your life. If you do not, we will rip your arms off and feed them to the hogs.” He also proposed establishing a mindset where everyone is considered a combatant until they prove otherwise.
I know that there are people who believe the ends justify the means and that Candidate Trump was exhibiting strength in his debate remarks as are Sec. Hegseth’s published views. I disagree – that mindset is not strength but rather it erodes trust in our national leadership and makes our military less effective.
Unrestrained use of force and disregard for rule of law are signs of weakness—not strength.
Recently a group of military and intelligence veterans currently serving in the U.S Senate and House of Representatives released a video reminding service members that they are under no obligation to follow illegal orders. The UCMJ states that service members have a legal duty to refuse orders that are manifestly illegal, and obeying such an order does not absolve them of criminal liability.
The video can be viewed here:
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025
This video, that was made by sitting members of our nation’s legislative branch, exhibiting their First Amendment rights has gotten a lot of attention, praise, and objection. The main objection to the video is its perceived potential to undermine the trust in the military chain of command. Even though the video message exclusively encourages service members to disobey illegal orders, to which they are already obligated under the UCMJ, and the message of the video never instructs service members to disobey their chain of command, this is still a serious concern. The unspoken message is that it is possible that service members may be faced with an illegal order. As I’ve stated, trust in the military chain of command is critical to military success but what undermines that trust more than reminding service members of their obligations under the UCMJ is ambiguity in our national leadership’s willingness to follow the rule of law which, in turn, can introduce ambiguity in the legality of an issued order. This ambiguity has been exacerbated more than anything else by the public comments expressing a reluctance to follow military rule of law by our Commander-in chief and Secretary of War. In particular, their publicly expressed views on the Geneva Conventions.
The Administration’s response to the video was swift. Pres. Trump posted the following on social media:
Pres. Trump also reposted multiple posts from other Truth Social users about the video, including one that said, “Hang them George Washington would.”
This was followed up by Sec. Hegseth threatening video contributor Sen. Mark Kelly with court-marshal and initiating an investigation into his “potentially unlawful comments”.
Regardless of your opinion of the video, I hope that you can agree that attacking citizens of the U.S. for exercising their rights under the First Amendment is inappropriate and dangerous. It can also serve as a dog whistle for increased political violence that put our elected officials in danger.
Someone who knows about political violence all too well is Sen. Mark Kelly. Since Pres. Trump and Sec. Hegseth put out their responses to the video, Sen. Kelly has received an exponential increase in death threats. I have had the honor of flying in space with Sen. Kelly—twice. Sen. Kelly is one of the finest leaders I’ve worked with in my 26 years in the U.S. Air Force and 13 years at NASA. He is a person of deep morals and conviction who loves this country and knows first-hand what it means to serve his country in combat. He has a long history of achieving important and tough mission objectives in highly stressful and challenging environments. Knowing Sen. Kelly well, it is undeniably clear to me that his true selfless leadership motivated him to put out that video to demonstrate to service members that he had their backs. We ask so much of our service members. We shouldn’t ask them to stand on their own if they are ordered to do something they know is wrong. Something that will ultimately undermine our Constitution and hurt our nation.
We are living through very divisive times but despite our differences of opinion I hope we can all agree that we do not expect or want our military to obey illegal orders. I also hope we can agree that threatening prosecution against U.S. citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights is also wrong. Both send us down a slippery slope that leads to destruction and disaster.
Ron Garan, Colonel (Ret), USAF
