Legal Question in Military Law in New York

Re: Disobeying Orders

One must be very careful about disobeying an order. An order, for example, to shoot an unarmed civilian, is clearly unlawful, and may be disobeyed. However, unless the order CLEARLY contravenes the law (for example, an officer were to order you to lie to a general courts martial) you should not disobey the order.

The doctrine generally is that of the Nuremburg Tribunals. I do not know what section of the UCMJ this involves, but you must be very very careful about disobeying an order since in certain instances that can get you dishonorably discharged and sent to jail. If you have any questions about this, consult a JAG lawyer immediately.