“I didn’t really foresee myself ever being in this kind of scenario, where I would have to seriously think about shooting an American citizen,” said one active-duty soldier. onesarahjones reports
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But soldiers aren’t dogs, and may object to being used as such. In the ranks, dissent blooms. Organizations that provide advice and assistance to conscientious objectors and dissidents in the military say that since governors first mobilized National Guard units to put down protests, they’ve heard from service members who object to their orders. Trump and Cotton were eager to send in the troops, but the troops themselves were somewhat less enthusiastic.
That conflict may already be underway. By June 1, CNN reported, there were as many guardsmen on protest duty in the U.S. as there are active-duty troops in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan combined, though numbers are now declining as governors begin to send their units home. Mobilized to support state and local police officers in addition to federal law enforcement, guardsmen have not helped de-escalate tensions.
In Reppenhagen’s view, the right of a service member to refuse an unlawful order provides them with some protection, though he said it can be ambiguously interpreted and defined. Service members have cited it in the past with mixed results. In one high-profile case, Army lieutenant Ehren Watada refused orders to deploy to Iraq in 2006 due to his belief that the war was illegal. After three years of court martial proceedings, the Army eventually allowed him to resign.
“The consequences are steep, but I don’t think any of them come close to the kind of burden on your conscience if you were to obey an immoral order,” he added.
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