133
votes
Accepted
Is it truly illegal for the US Armed Forces to hire someone whose IQ is less than 83?
Short Answer
Applicants are required by military regulation to have a percentile score on a standardized test called the ASVAB that is 31 or more, which is roughly comparable to an IQ score on the ...
- 230k
53
votes
Accepted
Can a soldier be court-martialed for revealing intelligence while in duress?
2019 Manual for Courts-Martial, Rule 916(h):
(h) Coercion or duress. It is a defense to any offense
except killing an innocent person that the accused’s
participation in the offense was caused by a ...
- 30.1k
51
votes
Can a soldier refuse to carry a weapon?
Under US Army Regulation 601-210 as of 2016, conscientious objection will normally disqualify someone applying to enlist, but the disqualification can be waived. Under Army Regulation 600-43, if they ...
- 24.2k
50
votes
Accepted
Can Prince Harry wear the uniforms of his former units?
By Army regulations, no, he's not allowed to wear that uniform.
Prince Harry technically isn't a "retired officer". Rather, he resigned his commission in the Army, effective 19 June 2015. ...
- 30.1k
47
votes
Accepted
I'm a trans woman. When can I deregister from the American draft registry?
Apparently, you cannot do this at any point, unless the law changes at some time in the future:
FOR INDIVIDUALS ASSIGNED MALE AT BIRTH
People who were assigned male at birth are required to ...
- 38.8k
44
votes
Accepted
Why isn't a draft (conscription) slavery?
The only real answer is that the US Supreme Court, in interpreting the constitution, and specifically the argument that the 13th Amendment prohibits a draft for compelled military services has ...
- 114k
38
votes
Accepted
Would it be legal according to the laws of war if Ukrainian forces killed Putin in Moscow?
Yes
Providing the attack was otherwise made in accordance with the rules of war, enemy civilian leaders who are directly responsible for the prosecution of the conflict (so, the Minister of Defence, ...
- 219k
35
votes
Accepted
In the U.S. must treason be tried by a military tribunal?
It is not the case that treason must be tried by a military tribunal. See for example US v. Kawakita, which was an ordinary civilian jury trial. I cannot even imagine why one would think that there is ...
- 216k
35
votes
How many separate judicial systems are there in the United States?
Part of the answer depends upon how you count it.
Also, before one gets lost in the "trees" of the many U.S. court systems, it is important to note that the bulk of litigation of ...
- 230k
33
votes
In the U.S. must treason be tried by a military tribunal?
Actually, the opposite is true: a military tribunal cannot try a treason case. A military tribunal can only handle cases arising from the Uniform Code of Military Justice or other laws that state ...
- 6,437
29
votes
Can prisoners of war be exchanged against their will?
This question is investigated here. If we take the refugee question off the table for a moment, we need only consider the
Third Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War which is ...
- 216k
22
votes
Accepted
Can a soldier refuse to carry a weapon?
In the UK Armed Forces, conscientious objection is grounds for a refusal at the admission stage and has been since the end of conscription in 1963. Where a person develops an objection to military ...
- 4,244
22
votes
Are US enlisted personnel (as opposed to officers) required, or allowed, to disobey unlawful orders?
This doesn't exactly answer the question for the US military, but as a former enlisted soldier in the Australian Army, we were explicitly taught during basic training that the "lawful order" ...
- 561
21
votes
Has somebody gotten major prison sentences in the US for simply deserting their post?
Eddie Slovik was executed by firing squad for desertion during World War II (the only U.S. solider to have the death sentence carried out for desertion during the war). He requested from his commander ...
- 681
19
votes
Are US enlisted personnel (as opposed to officers) required, or allowed, to disobey unlawful orders?
From Military Justice Center
CAN YOU RECOGNIZE AN UNLAWFUL ORDER?
In the oath that service members take, they pledge to “obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the ...
- 4,598
17
votes
Has somebody gotten major prison sentences in the US for simply deserting their post?
By describing the situation with:
This seems like an absolutely horrific and barbaric way to punish soldiers who, for whatever reason, felt compelled to leave their post (in this particular case, ...
- 270
17
votes
Do "the laws" mentioned in the U.S. Oath of Allegiance have to be constitutional?
Technically, there is no such thing as an unconstitutional law. There are laws which have been passed, but whose unconstitutionality has not been discovered yet. But once a law is legally deemed to ...
- 2,598
17
votes
Accepted
name rank and serial... against the police?
If I understand the question correctly, the captive is a US marine who was participating in a training exercise in the United States and then arrested by civilian police who were not participating in ...
- 38.8k
15
votes
Accepted
USAMRIID is US Military - are they allowed to deploy domestically contrary to Posse Comitatus in response to biological outbreaks?
The article "The Posse Comitatus Act..." analyzes the legal restrictions on use of military power arising from that act. Following
US v. McArthur, 419 F. Supp. 186, where the act played a ...
- 216k
14
votes
Have any military personnel serving a democratic state been prosecuted according to the fourth Nuremberg principle (superior order)?
William Calley
Convicted of 22 counts of premeditated murder during the My Lai massacre, during his defence he testified:
Well, I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy. That was my job on ...
- 219k
12
votes
Accepted
Did Sokka commit the war crime of false flag? (ATLA S01E17)
No.
Assuming both the Fire Nation and Water Tribes are signatories to the Geneva conventions, the rules only apply to uniformed members of the signatory member nations. Such as the water tribes have ...
- 23.1k
11
votes
Accepted
Can the USA military be used as a police force domestically?
The use of the active duty military in a law enforcement role is not unconstitutional but it is prohibited by the posse comitatus act. 18 U.S.C. § 1385 (adopted 1878).
The text of the relevant ...
- 230k
11
votes
Can a soldier refuse to carry a weapon?
By default every male Finnish Citizen is liable for military service.
The relevant law for Finland has a whole Chapter 6 about unarmed service.
Basically, the person who asserts that a serious reason ...
- 211
11
votes
Do "the laws" mentioned in the U.S. Oath of Allegiance have to be constitutional?
There is an Oath of Enlistment for the military where the enlistee vows to
support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all
enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true ...
- 216k
10
votes
Can a soldier enforce federal law?
united-states
Under US law, any citizen may hold a person caught in the process of committing a felony (which kidnapping surely is) for the police. A soldier has no special authority. Indeed under ...
- 114k
10
votes
Does civilians' defence of their cities absolve advancing soldiers of war crimes?
Civilians taking active part in hostilities are legitimate targets
This is enshrined in Rule 6 of customary International Humanitarian Law.
Rule 6. Civilians are protected against attack, unless and ...
- 219k
9
votes
At what point can a surrendered military force resume fighting?
Under the Geneva Convention a prisoner-of-war may lawfully resume fighting once they have successfully escaped. Under Article 91:
The escape of a prisoner of war shall be deemed to have succeeded ...
- 219k
9
votes
Accepted
What war crime (if any) is being committed in this fictional story?
According to the detractors, the Humans are using the POWs as Human
Shields (or Meat Shields), claiming this is no different from placing
POWs around a SAM battery emplacement (and that even forcing a
...
- 230k
9
votes
Would it be legal for foreign volunteers to fight in Ukraine?
It’s legal under Ukrainian law for foreign nationals to join their defense forces
Indeed, this is so common it may be considered the default position internationally: the US, UK, France, and Australia ...
- 219k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible