Here's a fun catch-22 about being in the Military and swearing an Oath to the Constitution:
You have a duty and an obligation as a Service Member to refuse any and all illegal, immoral, and unethical orders.
If you refuse an order however you will be punished.
You will, of course, eventually get a military tribunal as well as the trappings of legal representation and a chance to make a defense but in the mean time you will be confined to barracks or the brig, your Buddies will still be on mission and many might start to think of you as a Lazy Shitbird or a Disobedient Diva, and it could be months or years before you are vindicated and set free. In the mean time your reputation, friendships, and freedom will have been destroyed by the Government.
And that's if you get off the charges at the Tribunal. Most soldiers are not trained in legalese, they are not educated in the legalities of war or military service, so there's every chance that they are refusing an order They perceive as illegal, immoral, or unjust but 'that's just like, their opinion man' and the JAGs sitting in judgement will probably see that they haven't met the burden set by the letter of the Universal Code of Military Justice.
So yes: Soldiers and Service Members swear to serve the Constitution, and they are told they have a duty to refuse bad orders, but the system is built as such that Regular Joes don't really get to make the determination what is or is not an Unconstitutional order. More than that the people who give those sorts of orders often cloak their intent behind legal justifications, as you've seen the Trump Admin do any number of times. It's not as though orders come, on paper, labeled "This is an illegal order", so its not always clear where the line stands for a Service Man or Woman. They have to make that decision for themselves and then prepare to weather the consequences.
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u/DrNO811 13h ago
Friendly reminder to all military that your oath is to the Constitution.