Not Every Order Should be Obeyed
The Brittany Rebellion of 1771

Most enlisted soldiers cringe at the very thought of disobeying a superior officer.   As Washington wrote, “the soul of the army is discipline,” and the very enterprise of war can’t move forward if every battle strategy required a vote.   Certainly, even rogue drill sergeants need to be obeyed, on most every routine occasion.

Having had a few friends, however, who graduated from West Point, and another who served as a combat Marine officer in Vietnam, I can tell you that the more educated the soldier, and the more familiar he is with western history, the more likely he is to debate which orders need to be obeyed, which need to be ignored, and which need to be openly and publicly defied. Continue Reading »