There are American soldiers who have gone to the stockade for refusing to follow orders to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that the war itself is illegal. Courts both military and civilian have ruled, however, that the question of whether the war is legal or not is “above pay grade” for the troops, and an order to deploy is not itself an illegal order.

The whole “illegal order” question does apply to actions when they’re already in field, though. Things like abusing and killing unarmed civilians or prisoners for instance. The order handed down to many an advancing army throughout history, to “forage” along the way (i.e. claim whatever provisions and supplies you reasonably need from the people whose land you’re marching through) would now be illegal. Those are the broad strokes, but of course there’s a whole code of military justice that an officer can’t order a soldier to defy.

None of this gets at your core moral question, but that’s because the establishment considers the question above pay grade for the individual soldier/sailor/airman. The moral question for the individual becomes something more like: Is my duty of service to my country compelling enough that I choose to subordinate my own moral judgment and commit myself to carry out the moral judgments of others, with whom I may not agree when the time comes? And is that the best, most effective way I can carry out my duty of service?

I know members of the military – combat veterans – find themselves asking the same questions from time to time.

Yes, I have assumed that many do. Or most, even.

The “easy” answer is that a soldier is obligated to resist an illegal order, and the order being illegal is an absolute defense against discipline for failure to follow.

Apart from the problem you describe, this also opens the question of who should say what an illegal order is? What are absolute, just ethics and reasonings that make a war unquestionable?

“Did ye see the beautiful stone bridge ye had to cross coming into the village? I built it! Do they call me ‘Angus the Bridge Builder’? Nae, they do not!”

“Did ye see the stone fence by the creek? Six feet tall, and never have we lost lamb nor child since I built it! But do they call me ‘Angus the Fence Builder’? Nae, they do not!”

“But ye screw one lousy sheep…”

But come on, I’ve never met a soldier, marine, sailor, or airman who didn’t have a wicked, dark sense of humor!

Next time we’ve gotta talk Tull. — gotta crash, work in the AM. Later, or as you’se guys say G’day Mate!