Dissent by military officers and enlisted personnel
Officers and enlisted personnel, in the U.S. Armed Forces and elsewhere, regularly take an oral oath to support and defend the primary convening document and/or the supreme leader of the nation-state. There have been countless cases throughout human history where commissioned military officers and enlisted personnel—as individuals or small groups—have chosen to question and disobey the orders of their superior officers or the supreme leader of the state.
Forms of dissent
Dissent by military officers falls into two main categories: violent and non-violent. In essence, when a military officer, military leader chooses to oppose the orders given to him by his superior officers or national leader, he/she must decide whether his counter-action will be violent or non-violent in nature and in aim. Violent or forcible dissent or opposition among military officers against their superiors or national authority is further broken down into the following categories:
commonly refers to those who are being drafted into military service, who are not currently in military service. However, there are cases in history where an officer or enlisted member of the military has volunteered for military service and they find later on that they do not agree with their government's war policies or orders.
There are countless examples in recent history where military officers have refused to execute the orders of their superiors because they felt their military was party to war crimes. Several German generals during World War II either refused orders, modified orders, or mounted coups or assassination attempts against the German leader Adolf Hitler. Many of these generals were highly respected by the German people and within the German High Command, notably Erwin Rommel, Claus von Stauffenberg, and Otto von Stülpnagel. With respect to recent history, United States and UK involvement in the War in Iraq has produced notable dissenters who, in their words, feel that war crimes have been perpetrated by American and British forces in Iraq. Ehren Watada and Malcolm Kendall-Smith—an American officer and British officer, respectively—have been court martialed for refusing to deploy with their units. Both Watada and Kendall-Smith dissent on the grounds that their respective governments are party to war crimes in Iraq.
Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel – German Army general in France and member of the July 20 Plot; directed to take control of Paris and negotiate an armistice with the Allies
Otto von Stülpnagel – German Army general who refused Hitler's order to burn Paris in August 1944; he opposed Hitler's Final Solution
Paul Hackett – US Marine Corps Reservemajor; publicly opposed some Bush administration's policies in Iraq during a 2005 Congressional election while still supporting President George W. Bush
Buddhika Jayamaha – US Army specialist who co-authored an op-ed in The New York Times questioning the US presence in Iraq
