From a heartbroken veteran

[babylonsister]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/3/17/2373611/-From-a-heartbroken-veteran?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

From a heartbroken veteran
Zeeksmom, author
by Zeeksmom
Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 5:33:49p EDT


I served 24 years, active and reserve, in the United States Marine Corps. I am watching the values I learned and cherished torn apart by one of the smallest men I’ve ever seen, abetted by other small men and equally diminished women.

My heart goes out to the military members who are literally caught in the middle of this insanity. Yes, they/I have a duty to disobey illegal orders, but if you have not served, you have no idea how difficult that is. The pressure from all sides to conform, fall in line, do as you’re told, is immense. That is the entire rationale of the military, especially close order drill: it is designed to instill instantaneous obedience to orders. The premise is that obeying without thinking will save your life in combat, when there’s no time to debate right and wrong.

Thus, disobeying Trump is almost impossible. And if the military does defy him, what you have is a military coup. That, as everyone knows, is not a desirable result; it can turn ugly very very quickly. We need only look at the regimes that have risen in South America and Africa after such a coup to see that having the military in charge is no one’s idea of a good outcome.

snip//

Murdering children is not honorable. Enriching a lying, cowardly pedophile is not honorable. Supporting billionaires and senators and toxic cosplaying “warriors” who are happy to kill Americans to pump their egos and bank accounts is not honorable. Double tap strikes against surrendering troops is not only not honorable, it is a war crime.

I pray the Joint Chiefs find the strength to do the unthinkable and defy the illegal orders from the White House. But if they cannot find that courage, I understand that as well.

And my heart remains broken.

[MustLoveBeagles]

1. ...

[twodogsbarking]

2. Hang in. Thanks for speaking out.

[erronis]

4. Agree - but best written to zekesmom on DailyKos.

[oldsoldierfadingfast]

3. This says well...

what I am thinking and feeling.

[Grim Chieftain]

5. Wow. My heart breaks for those who put this country first

Risking everything to defend the United States of America. We are shattered. We are no longer "United", we are horribly divided, and an evil beast has made it so - along with his enablers.

I cannot imagine the pain and heartbreak of those blessed soldiers who fought to defend our once great democracy.

[Initech]

6. This wretched administration sucks so bad. They can and must be removed.

[AverageOldGuy]

7. No, the Joint Chiefs will not man up

30 yrs in Army. I do not expect any general or admiral to speak up. Resign, maybe, but not speak up.

[cab67]

8. I'm reminded of Colin Powell.

He's the only one who could have maybe stopped the Iraq War. And he could have done so by refusing to give that presentation at the UN - by all accounts, he was skeptical of the stuff he agreed to say and had already rejected a bunch of other stuff as bullshit. And maybe resigning.

He was a civilian at that point, but I suspect he still had a level of military mentality that would have made such an act very, very difficult.

[ColoringFool]

25. Look Up Powell's Role In The Investigation Of My Lai......

COLIN POWELL WAS ALWAYS A COWARDLY YES-MAN.

[cab67]

27. Well aware of that.

I stand by what I said.

Powell, right or wrong, carried a level of gravitas with the American public. They'd forgotten My Lai, but remembered the Gulf War and Powell's appearances in the news media at the time. They trusted him way more than they trusted Bush, Cheney, or Rumsfeld.

As such, had he acted on what he actually thought at the time (according to multiple sources), he could have declined to repeat claims he thought were marginal at best. That would have had an impact on public perception of the administration's efforts.

[pwb]

9. We have a lot of small men in this administration.

Little Mikey, Marcos, Steven Miller, Lutnick, Besset, Little men are angry IMO.

Give me men of stature any day. Like Newsome,

[ffr]

10. As does the heart of a once great nation that fell apart due to egg price memes and unserious voters.

[liberalgunwilltravel]

11. Thank you Marine!

You’re an honorable person. Some the current administration is devoid of.

[thomski64]

26. You also said a coup against Krasnov would be undesirable

..I'm sort of hoping for something like that.
And then release of all unredacted EPSTEIN information, followed by summary execution of Krasnov for Treason. A complete fantasy on my part. But it helps me sleep to imagine it..

[Dan]

12. And sadly, we should have seen this coming because

One of his first acts was to get rid of the legal support for the Joint Chiefs - or the legal offices where they could get guidance.

I blame Trump but I blame the GOP more.

And you are right, unless you have been in the military you have no idea of the peer pressure and obedience to orders.

[flashman13]

13. You are a Marine and I know you have been thinking about this. When (rather than if) Trump orders the Marines

to land in Iran, the military command is going to face an almost impossible decision.

They can salute with an Aye Aye Sir, and send several ships and thousands of sailors and Marines to be slaughtered to absolutely no purpose. Technically speaking that probably would not be an "illegal order" if you discount the fact that only Congress can declare war. Or they can decide that Trump is that domestic enemy that they swore to defend the Constitution from and say NO Sir, we will not do that. Technically speaking, to say NO would be a de facto coup.

IMHO all of our other institutions have failed to protect us from that domestic enemy. The military is literally our last line of defense against fascism. I can't believe I just wrote that.

[COL Mustard]

15. It has to start from the top.

Lower ranking officers and NCOs can't just refuse to obey orders. The Generals and Admirals have to step up, along with their legal officers and say that such and such an order is illegal. They have to be willing to pay the price, as they will certainly be relieved and replaced.

[MadameButterfly]

29. Trump has already replaced the generals who have

any conscience. Whoever the generals are, IF the military disobeys illegal orders it won't be because they disagree with invading Iran, or because Congress didn't vote. That's way too vague. It would take Trump ordering the military to fire on domestic protesters or prevent an election from taking place. A takeover of our democracy depends on the military being willing to do that.

If Trump isn't removed by the 25th ammendment, Epstein files, Impeachment, or death, it will come to that, and we will find out.

[MadameButterfly]

30. I agree that in the end the military may decide, but

the courts have been doing their job and putting up a good fight. Without them democracy would be over already. They are buying us much needed time. If it weren't for SCOTUS, there'd be a chance the courts would save us.

And still, anything can happen. Who would have predicted the Epstein files? Trump's health is poor. Ukraine may turn out to be a hero in the Middle East. Trump is destroying the finances of everyone who voted for him below the top 1%. We might yet have an election and win the midterms.

Smart might yet beat out stupid.

[COL Mustard]

14. In normal times, any order originating from the President or the Secretary of Defense

Would be considered legal. It would have had legal review and presumably internal debate at the highest levels.

Now, unfortunately we can't assume that orders are proper. While we all have the duty to refuse illegal orders, if you do that you assume the risk and the consequences if you are wrong. Asking for clarification, and asking for things to be put in writing are ways to protect yourself. I will not ever recommend disobeying an order unless it is clearly, definitely, illegal but everyone has his or her own decisions to make.

[Whip-poor-will]

28. Legal

Nuremberg said the opposite

[democrank]

16. Kicking for Zeeksmom

Gut wrenching, all of it.

[hvn_nbr_2]

17. Law says disobey illegal orders. Reality says "Pffftt to that!"

In reality, anyone who disobeys an illegal order will be court martialed. In a court martial, the jury is composed of officers, not peers. Any officer who finds someone not guilty because the order was illegal will find their career ended. And probably get a lot of shit till they get out.

The reality is that the best possible outcome for anyone who disobeys an illegal order is to go to jail, get a dishonorable discharge, and maybe thirty years later be posthumously vindicated by some commission.

[Snackshack]

18. If...

My grandfather and his brother who both served in WW2 were alive today they would be absolutely disgusted by the fact that only 1 member of our armed forces had the intestinal fortitude, courage & integrity to say "No".

[Joinfortmill]

19. I do hear you. And, as always, thank you for your service.

[Aussie105]

20. So many good American values have been destroyed.

Values that Americans thought were immutable and were admired by the rest of the world.

All by one psychotic man. And helpful sycophants.

[CaptainTruth]

21. We either stand up & defend America, or we waive the white flag & surrender...

...to the fascism & evil of the Trump Regime & the GOP.

Not all solutions are "nice," or "convenient," or "clean."

Think about how our nation was created. Think about how WWII was won. As much as I hate to consider it, I fear we might have to go to similar lengths to save our country now.

[Shipwack]

22. This squid agrees 1000%

I wish I could find a flaw in your argument, but I can’t.

Another problem is that there are few repercussions for following unlawful orders. I don’t mean the low level warfighters, but senior enlisted and officers.

The last case I can recall is the soldiers who posed with dead enemy soldiers. While they were convicted, Trump overturned their conviction. All the “leaders” involved in Gitmo torturing were never charged (“look forward, not back” )

[soldierant]

23. I also served in the USMC, though not for 24 years, only for 10.

But I was on active duty when My Lai happened. Not that I heard about it then - that took time - and I was an am ashamed of how it was handled. But when I first heard about the girls' school being bombed - I have been reliving it since. And so has Steve Schmidt:
https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/the-tragedy-at-my-lai-an-american-a33

[BidenRocks]

24. Honor

What a concept.
I am also sad at the betrayal of our oath.
All enemies, foreign or Domestic!