Uniform code of military justice
I have practiced law for over 62 years. I got my start as a United States Air Force Staff Judge Advocate. I was stationed at a Strategic Air Command base hosting a fleet of B-52s all armed with nuclear bombs. Th Uniform Code of Military Justice guided the conduct of us all: airmen, non-commissioned officers and officers. My job as SJA was to enforce the uniform code both prosecution and defense. The code requires obedience to lawful orders. It requires that unlawful orders not be obeyed. I am thrilled that New Hampshire Congressman Maggie Goodlander and five others in Congress, all with military or intelligence backgrounds, had the integrity, the courage to say out loud that the military does not have to follow unlawful orders. Trump’s killings, murders, in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific do not come from lawful orders. The killings come from unlawful orders. Our military must adhere to the code and stop.