Ok guys, I've got to jump in on this.
I'm former military.
8 years active infantry.
Gulf war.
Peacekeeping in the middle east.
Contracted in Iraq. - (Not as a combatant but I did get mortared, rocketed and shot at.... a lot.)
I've seen my share of soldiers (American and otherwise) and war so I'm going to give my opinion as a veteran.
There are a lot of opinions given here on the notion that the military is a bunch of mindless stormtroopers that will shoot down fellow Americans if
ordered to do so.
Besides misguided and angry opinion, the only evidence to support that has been a few cases of members claiming to be military and declaring that
they will kill Americans if ordered, and links to a supposed survey of soldiers who will do so as well.
This 'survey' claims that these troops will fire on their own countrymen, if ordered.
Among new recruits almost 90% give the response: "If it's the law and they order me to do it I guess it's okay." Our federally controlled
public schools have done their job.
Of those with more than 15 years of service, 87% replied "disagree" or "strongly disagree." Responses by members of the Special Forces Underground
were unprintable; basically, there will not be many officers who give that order more than once.
This was given as support for the idea that the military is a bunch of mindless killers. So, lets assume for argument that this is an actual existing
document and not a fabrication. If we read what this is saying then we can actually see that there is more depth and maturity in the ranks than the
military gets credit for. The majority of new recruits says If its the law and they order me to do it then I GUESS it's ok.
They don't even know.
They guess.
This is obviously the most unobtrusive answer a new recruit can give when he does not want to write on paper that "He won't follow orders."
These people are not characters in a video game or a science fiction movie. They are living breating humans that grew up in the USA. They are also
low ranking members who are being put in a position of having to decide between their friends, families and country or an obviously illegal and
immoral act.
People with 15 years of service (High ranking NCOs and Officers) disagree or strongly disagree - 87%
If this was an election then the question would have been answered 36% ago.
And then this,
Responses by members of the Special Forces Underground were unprintable; basically, there will not be many officers who give that order more than
once.
Unprintable.
Special forces members wrote such virulent responses that they could NOT BE PRINTED.
Obviously, new recruits are trained to be malleable for the purpose of instilling discipline As they mature they regain their own self determination.
They never lose a sense sense of moral duty. They are just trained to follow orders first. This is eventually subjugated to an intelligent use of
moral standards and judgment
by all but the most extreme personalities.
The Officers in charge and the NCO corps is obviously going to have the very small fraction that will struggle with this issue but the 87% majority in
mature members will offset that.
The special forces aren't even a question. They would take out any officer issuing that order.
You see, the more time and experience a soldier has in service, the more likely they are to think clearly and do the right thing. Since they start out
as young impressionable civilians, the new recruits are more likely to follow an illegal order or at least say they will as is the case in this
article.
The orders, however, do not come from new recruits. They come from the officers and NCOs. If that order was ever issued by our government then the
likelihood of it reaching the lower ranking troop on the ground is exceedingly slim and would likely be ignored. If any single soldier did open fire
on fellow Americans it is likely he would be killed or incapacitated by his fellow soldiers.
As for the members here who have posted and claim to be active military that say they will kill Americans without question need to be removed from the
service and give serious consideration to getting treatment by a trained mental professional. Or they need to at least grow up.
Those of you who have never been soldiers but continue to villify and marginalize them as mindless unthinking drones should consider joining
yourselves.
Or find some other windmill to tilt at.