A billboard near Naval Base San Diego is stirring debate after a local Veterans For Peace chapter posted a message telling active-duty troops and National Guard members to "refuse illegal orders," raising fresh questions about military discipline, lawful command, and politics in one of the country's largest Navy communities.
The sign, placed in Barrio Logan, delivers a blunt message in a neighborhood known for activism and prominent public art.
Its wording tracks a broader campaign that has appeared in other parts of the country and taps into a dispute that intensified last year after Democrat lawmakers, including Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, urged troops to reject "unlawful" commands.
Veterans For Peace says it has launched a campaign to remind brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and grandchildren who have joined the military that they have the right and the duty to refuse illegal orders and will support service members who do so.
They say its campaign is intended to remind troops of what it describes as their "right and responsibility to refuse illegal orders."
Critics of the broader "refuse illegal orders" campaign, including President Donald Trump, have called it "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"
Under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, troops can be punished for failing to obey lawful orders, while Pentagon law-of-war guidance also states that members of the armed forces are bound to obey only lawful orders and that manifestly illegal orders must not be carried out.
That legal principle, however, is narrower in practice than the billboard's brief wording may suggest.
Military and legal experts have long noted that determining whether an order is illegal can be difficult outside clear-cut cases such as orders to commit war crimes or target civilians. Refusing an order can carry severe consequences if military authorities determine the order was lawful.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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