January 13, 2026
I have never been a fan of former astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), but, of course, I have never been a fan of any Democratic senator for at least the past 50 years. And for the record, I should add that have always loathed the vast majority of Republican senators as well. About the only current Republican member of the Senate that I have any respect for is Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Sen. Kelly and some other congressional Democratic knuckleheads released a video back in November urging U.S. service members to "refuse illegal orders." No specific illegal orders were mentioned, but the issue of the U.S. military bombing suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea was certainly a major factor in the production of the video. Another Democratic senator who appeared in the video, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, later admitted that she was "not aware" of whether the president has issued any illegal orders to the military.
President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, along with most mainstream conservatives, went ballistic, and accused the Democrats in the video of treason and sedition. Sen. Kelly, a retired Navy captain, was especially singled out by Trump and Hegseth.
Hegseth has now issued a Secretarial Letter of Censure to Sen. Kelly for participating in and defending the video and for engaging in "a sustained pattern of public statements that characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse orders related to those operations." According to Hegseth, by his actions, Sen. Kelly undermines the chain of command, counsels disobedience, creates confusion about duty, brings discredit upon the Armed Forces, and engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer. Hegseth is also seeking to reduce Sen. Kelly's rank and retirement pay.
Sen. Kelly said in response: "Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn't like, they will come after them the same way. It's outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that."
Whether Sen. Kelly and the others did a foolish thing in releasing that video will be debated until the Democrats pull some other publicity stunt and then it will be forgotten. But their remarks about how U.S. troops should refuse to obey illegal orders raises a valid point.
Now, I know that most Democrats in Congress were silent when President Obama killed dozens of people via drone, including a U.S. citizen. I know that most Democrats suffer from an extreme case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. I know that most Democrats in Congress are evil, even more so than Republicans, and that is pretty evil. And I know that most Democrats in Congress have no problem with the death and destruction meted out by the U.S. military as long as President Trump is not the commander in chief. But let's see what the military itself says about disobeying an unlawful order.
Everyone who enlists in the Armed Forces takes the military oath of enlistment:
I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
The key phrase here is "according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice" (UCMJ). The UCMJ was passed by Congress in May of 1950, signed into law by President Truman, and took effect on May 31, 1951.
The relevant sections of the UCMJ are 90, 91, and 92:
10 U.S. Code § 890 - Art. 90. Willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer:
Any person subject to this chapter who willfully disobeys a lawful command of that person's superior commissioned officer shall be punished-
(1) if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and
(2) if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
10 U.S. Code § 891 - Art. 91. Insubordinate conduct toward warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer:
Any warrant officer or enlisted member who-
(1) strikes or assaults a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer, while that officer is in the execution of his office;
(2) willfully disobeys the lawful order of a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer; or
(3) treats with contempt or is disrespectful in language or deportment toward a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer while that officer is in the execution of his office;
shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
10 U.S. Code § 892 - Art. 92. Failure to obey order or regulation:
Any person subject to this chapter who-
(1) violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or regulation;
(2) having knowledge of any other lawful order issued by a member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order; or
(3) is derelict in the performance of his duties;
shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Is it treason or sedition to point these things out?
In addition to the UCMJ, there is the Department of Defense Law of War Manual:
18.3 DUTIES OF INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES
Each member of the armed services has a duty to: (1) comply with the law of war in good faith; and (2) refuse to comply with clearly illegal orders to commit violations of the law of war.
18.3.2 Refuse to Comply With Clearly Illegal Orders to Commit Law of War Violations.
Members of the armed forces must refuse to comply with clearly illegal orders to commit law of war violations. In addition, orders should not be construed to authorize implicitly violations of law of war.
18.3.2.1 Clearly Illegal Orders to Commit Law of War Violations.
The requirement to refuse to comply with orders to commit law of war violations applies to orders to perform conduct that is clearly illegal or orders that the subordinate knows, in fact, are illegal. For example, orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal. Similarly, orders to kill defenseless persons who have submitted to and are under effective physical control would
also be clearly illegal.
The problem is not whether members of the U.S. military are permitted to disobey unlawful or illegal orders, but what constitutes an unlawful or illegal order.
The military wants soldiers to assume that every order is a lawful order. The Department of Defense Law of War Manual, in the last part of 18.3.2.1, says that "the duty not to comply with orders that are clearly illegal would be limited in its application when the subordinate is not competent to evaluate whether the rule has been violated. Subordinates are not required to screen the orders of superiors for questionable points of legality, and may, absent specific knowledge to the contrary, presume that orders have been lawfully issued." The next section, 18.3.2.2, adds that "commands and orders should not be understood as implicitly authorizing violations of the law of war where other interpretations are reasonably available."
Is there any doubt that to President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth, every order they give is a lawful order ? And is there any doubt that their orders will be upheld as lawful orders?
So, what is a member of the U.S. armed forces to do ? Every order he receives from his superiors all the way up to Secretary Hegseth and Trump the commander in chief will be said and judged to be a lawful order even if it is an immoral act such as bombing, maiming, killing, making widows and orphans, destroying property and infrastructure, changing regimes, policing the world, invading, occupying, fighting foreign wars, and otherwise helping to carry out a reckless, belligerent, and meddling U.S. foreign policy. In short, most everything that the U.S. military currently does.
Every member of the U.S. military must choose morality over orders. Morality trumps Trump, Hegseth, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretaries of the military, and all commanding officers.
This exactly why no American-Christian or otherwise-should join the military. The track record of the military is death and destruction all over the world. If most everything the military does is not immoral then nothing is immoral. If someone joins the military, then he can't help but commit immoral acts if he is to obey the orders of his superiors. And why should someone voluntarily put himself in a position where he might be called upon to commit an immoral act or not be sure whether the action he is told to commit might be immoral?
Americans should just stay out of the military in the first place. It is a global force for evil and immorality.