"Every time Hegseth does one of these things, I'm getting messages from active duty troops,

[Quiet Em]

reaching out to me more and more, saying ‘How do I get involved?’,” said Goldsmith, referring to the work his organization has done to out neo-Nazis and far-right links in the military community. “We’ve got active-duty troops who recognize that the military they’re serving in, has become a threat to democracy.”

Outside of the “anti-war protesters during the Bush era”, Goldsmith says he has not seen this level of resistance to Pentagon policies amongst the military and veteran community, “in the last 20 years”. Another veteran who spoke with the Guardian also similarly quipped that Hegseth’s antics were seen as “cringe” among soldiers still in uniform.

“We’re gonna see a lot of christian nationalists join the military,” he said. “They’re not gonna perform very well, and our national security will suffer for a generation for it, because those that don’t wash out will be toxic leaders.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/14/pete-hegseth-pentagon-christian-nationalism

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. Wait, what?

I’ve been told that the military would commit treason en masse to enable Trump’s crimes and keep him in office beyond the end of his term.

Have I been lied to?

[edhopper]

6. Have any refused any orders

so far? Are they following his fascist plan in DC?

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. Wait 30 days

Currently Trump’s orders for DC are technically legal, until/unless a court rules otherwise.

The orders can’t go past 30 days without congressional authorization, so we’ll see what happens.

Everything so far has been cloaked in a blanket of pseudo-legality; hopefully we’ll see a ruling in the California case soon.

I don’t know how civilian court rulings affect troops under the UMCJ, but it’s an important question that needs to be answered.

[slightlv]

12. It remains to be seen....

While there were quite a few democrats when I was in the Air Force (a lifetime ago) and also while I was in DoD before I retired about 5 years ago, they were overwhelmed by the number of republican and trump backers. In fact the last guy I engaged with at my desk while working DoD decided he just flat out wasn't going to come around me and my coworker anymore. He was so far right wing, and we called him on every little falsehood. And this was BEFORE trump took office in 2016. So, it remains to be seen... how many democrats and "woke" soldiers, as well as LBGTQ+ and trans troops has trump tossed, to be replaced by his maga stooges?

I don't think you're going to have to wait too long before we get an answer. I'm not going to be "shocked" regardless of which way it slides. We took at oath to the Constitution, not a man or a particular ideology... but so did trump; and you see how far THAT'S holding up!

[Chi67]

2. Really?

So far, I not seen one service member refuse unlawful orders. Time for them to step up and refuse. The time is now.

[Red Mountain]

3. I'm not aware of any unlawful orders

yes, Trump's use of the NG in CA and DC is predicated on some pretty flimsy (or outright made up) excuses but it's not the sort of thing that's going to make the rank and file stick their necks out, risk their careers or face disciplinary action.

[SCantiGOP]

5. You're right

Until Trump disobeys a direct court order, none of the military actions can be deemed as unlawful.
It is Congress, and our gutless Supreme Court, that deserves to be called out, not those serving in the Armed Forces.

[edhopper]

7. You mean the same Supreme Court

that said the President cannot break the Law? That consistently rules regardless of the Constitution?

[Scalded Nun]

4. Servicemembers do indeed need to make decisions on just where they stand in terms of their oaths to the Constitution

"...Support and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL Enemies, foreign AND domestic"

But we really need senior military leadership stepping up, I am not seeing it yet.

Maybe I am missing it or not seeing it behind the scenes, and I hope that is the case.

[haele]

8. You typically don't see Service Members taking an active stance...

But there's something called "malicious compliance" that's well known when a mission and a commander's orders are incomplete, not defined, or not very well aligned with either the Constitution, the UCMJ, or common sense, for that matter.

[Demovictory9]

9. "The man has all his 'deus vult' tattoos and his hospitaller crosses because he wants to imagine himself as the picture

“The man has all his ‘deus vult’ tattoos and his hospitaller crosses because he wants to imagine himself as the picture book hero, as the knight,” said Pruitt. “That is not what our military is, that is not what our country is, and that is not what the Christian mission is.”

___________

He is a drunken, rapist, cheating bigot

[slightlv]

13. There shouldn't BE a "Christian mission" in the military!

When I served, chaplains had to have a good understanding of a multitude of faiths. They counseled the individual... they did not try to "convert" them. The war college's head chaplain several years ago held lecture lunches, and he was GOOD. I'm Pagan, and I make no bones about it any longer. I've been out of the broom closet far too long. But he and I had wonderful side discussions, and often I'd slip up to his office when I was on break, just to chat more with regarding religion, his experiences overseas, and what his core mission entailed.

Granted, with Bush jr. we lost a lot of these people who held to the original Chaplain's mission, replaced by Xtian extremists. I'm just glad I was long gone before I ran into any of them. Unfortunately, one of the branches most offensive from what I've read over a number of years has been my own Air Force. They even traipsed to the place where the Pagans on base had made their Circle for ritual and completely defiled it. While they were given a talking to, nothing much happened to them. Wanna bet what would have happened if the situation had been reversed?

[Figarosmom]

11. They really are the American Taliban...nt

[slightlv]

14. Oh, hon... that's coming on the back burner yet...

The American Taliban is the NAR (National Apostolic Reformation... formerly known as the 7 Mountains Mandate Dominionists.