I told my first sargent no.  He got an article 15 and became an E-6 in another unit, I was given my last 3 months off so my contract could expire and I could dissapear quietly.  Not the way to end 8 years in the army.

I can't really vote "yes" to disobeying an "unlawful" order, but I did refuse to follow a lawful one.

It was a training exercise and we were stationed out at a Fire Tower. Those familiar with North Carolina know what those are. Anyway, the radio system antenna do not get high enough to reach over the trees there so the plan had been to mount the antenna to the side of the fire tower.
About two weeks before we had done so, without approval, simply to prove that it will work.

This time though, they wanted 4 antennae up there. Well to make a long story short, there really isn't enough room on the stairway landings to mount 4 antenna. That means climbing out on the support structure to mount the others. Which I guess the Ops O assumed we were going to do.

We hung the first two from the landings just like before and they worked fine, but I refused to have my guys climbing out on the structure without safety harnesses. So I called back to the rear and asked my SNCOIC to get us some. He told me that the Ops O was pissed because the stuff wasn't up yet. I explained everything to Gunny and he said he'd see what he could get.

While waiting for his response, I get a call from the Capt. (Ops O) demanding that we get these things up and running. I explained the situation to him and he basically said tough shit, do it anyway. I refused.

Shortly there after I get a call from Gunny to tell me basically the same thing the Capt had just said. I told him "If Capt. America wants these things operational that bad, tell him to come out here and put the antenna up himself. We'll be more than happy to make the connections and run the system after that. I'm not going to insist that my Marines risk injury or death simply to please his arrogant ass on a TRAINING exercise."

Well, to sum it all up quickly, Capt. Dipshit got the Maj. involved and they both show up at my site with Gunny and my Lt. After seeing the situation for themselves, they pulled their head out of their asses and agreed with me. We got the harnesses shortly there after and did what we set out to do.

I have several other similar stories, but that one involved the most people. (though not the highest ranks)

Quoted: I was driving a 998 on Okinawa from White Beach to MCAS after one long ass boat trip to and from Korea. The thing was half full (half way up, way over the gate) with gear, and status boards on top. A zero wanted four troops to ride on top of the board, in hopes that the flap would hold them in. I said "No Sir, that's not safe." He called the duty driver to come and pick them up. When I was a invol army LE MP in germany I have quite a few tales. Officers about to be arrested tend to order you to let them go Then there was the time I yanked the USAEUR plates off a helo CO's POV right in front of the hanger at lunch time, with a large chunk of his unit looking on (expired plates). He tried to order me to stop. I stopped right after I got the plates, tagged it for the recovery truck, and put the bright orange sticker on the windshield.

I just got done with Basic this summer.  The SDS had me ride in a 5ton that was full up to the cover with duffel bags out to the Victory forge site.  Had to hold onto the cross members to keep from flying out the end of the truck.  Was unaware that it might be unlawful to do that, dangerous yes, but in BCT I would not have told the SDS to shove it.  Not and expect to live.

Drache-

    It would seem that it was unlawful for the situation, if not illegal on the face of it.  Endangering the marines under his command for a training exercise is short-sighted at best.


BTW- I am not an ociffer yet, but I am going to OCS next year.

Quoted: Drache-     It would seem that it was unlawful for the situation, if not illegal on the face of it.  Endangering the marines under his command for a training exercise is short-sighted at best. BTW- I am not an ociffer yet, but I am going to OCS next year.

I worked a case  (among others) where an O-3 KILLED 4 soldiers with his orders.  When there is a  flash flood in progress,  You don't order Armored vehicles into a stream crossing

Quoted: I don't recall ever being given an unlawful order.

Me either, but there is still time!

Never been given an "unlawful order".

But on a few occaisions, I've had the pleasure of refusing some really stupid orders.
When they realize that they can't punish you, because they'll look worse when the order in question comes under any scrutiny....

...priceless.

Quoted: Quoted: Had a STGCS try to order me to gundeck maintence on an MK-116 firecontrol system.  He threatened to take me to mast I threatened to go talk to the chief of staff of our DESRON  who was our former XO and my sea daddy.  That shut him up. After I got out my old LPO emailed saying that Senior had taken the whole workcenter to mast for gundecking the 116. What is gundecking?

Gundecking -> falsifying reports, saying stuff was done that wasn't, etc... Basically, stuff like the vehicle parts/maintanance story....

Quoted: ... shutting down the brow I call the OOD (officer of the deck) to come defuse the situation and to open the brows for bussiness.

Mind explaining this for us non-Navy types?

ETA: DOHHH! Never mind - what I get for not reading the whole posting first.

No illegal ones come to mind, though I did receive a few questionable ones....

Brand new to the unit E-2 in Germany, we're out in the field at Hohenfels, worst winter in Germany
in 100+ years. Standing post at the entrance to the TOC perimeter. Jeep pulls up, and I could see
that it was the BN XO and his driver. Neither could remember the password. He's bitching about
being late for a briefing, and I'm teetering between fear of officers (being new to the unit and the
Army) and my fear of having to explain to 'Dameon' (our Top) why I'd allowed someone into the
perimeter w/o the countersign. Fear of Top over-rode my fear of him, and I wouldn't let them pass.
To this day, I'm convinced that the TOC could hear the screeching from where we were standing,
as about that time, here comes the SGM. "You can let him in, son. Don't worry about it," referring
to the major's threats.

Received an AAM out of it later, as the SGM said that I did my job, and privately told me that our
confrontation had been one of the funniest things he'd heard in a long time!
- - -
Working in the comsec vault, I had a few hard-drives that needed destruction. HDs at "X" level, you
could destroy with a certain method, but "Y" level items had to be destroyed via more stringent
methods. The CESO came into the vault one morning as I was getting ready to leave for the destruct
facility, which was abt an hours drive away.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to go to ___ to destroy these drives. Remember, I told you about this yesterday?"
"Oh yeah. Well, we don't have time for all that. Just peel the stickers off of them, and throw them in
the box with the "X" drives. Nobody will know the difference."
"Sir, I can't do that, and you know it."
"Why not?"
We then started swapping codes, regs, and devolved into the LT having me locked at attention while
he proceeded to tell me what was going to happen to me, becoming more unglued as it went along.

Abt that time, the BN XO happened to walk past, and stuck his head in, obviously wondering why
the LT was screaming at a CPL. He seperated us, got our stories, then left with the LT, telling me
to stand fast until I heard from him. An hour later, the phone rings, with the CQ telling me that the
XO wants me to report to the BN CO's office ASAP. I figured that my ass was toast, but went on
up, where the COL had me repeat my story to him, then thanked me for sticking to my guns, and
doing it right.
Oh, BTW, we had a new CESO a week later.