The Hunt for Red October
During the Vietnam War the American public first became aware of the atrocities carried out against civilians by military personnel. Many of the protests against these actions were focused on the soldiers rather than on the commanders issuing the orders. After the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam many Americans grew remorseful and regretted their protest directed against the troops. Studies were conducted, one notable one was by Stanley Milgram, on the immorality of obeying Authority . When United States Military personnel are sworn into service they take the following Oath of Service.
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Under Article 90 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) it is a crime for a military member to willfully disobey a superior commissioned officer. Article 91 of that code makes it a crime to disobey a superior Noncommissioned or Warrant Officer. Article 92 of that code makes it a crime to disobey any lawful order, in that article the word willful is removed so any disobedience, even inadvertent is considered criminal. Moreover, the penalty for disobedience in the time of war can be a death sentence..
In the case of “The Hunt For Red October” and the underlying “Man From Red October” the moral judgment was made as a preemptive action not only to avoid the potential for wholesale destruction, but also to avoid upsetting the balance of power that kept the two World Superpowers at bay. .
Bibliography
Clancy, T. (2012). The Hunt for Red October - First Day. Retrieved 5 8, 2012, from Tom Clancy: http://tomclancy.com/excerpts/hunt_for_red_october_clancy.pdf
Clancy, T. (2012). The Hunt for Red October. Retrieved 5 8, 2012, from Tom Clancy - Official Site: http://tomclancy.com/book_display.php?isbn13=9780425240335
Hersh, S. M. (2004, 5 17). Chain of Command. Retrieved 5 9, 2012, from The New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/17/040517fa_fact2?currentPage=all
Powers, R. (2012). Military Orders - To Obey of Not to Obey? Retrieved 5 9, 2012, from About.Com: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/militarylaw1/a/obeyingorders.htm
U. S. House of Representatives. (2012). United States Code Classification Tables. Retrieved 5 9, 2012, from U. S. House of Representatives: http://uscode.house.gov/classification/tables.shtml
Wenker, L. C. (1981, July-August). Morality and Military Obedience. Retrieved 5 8, 2012, from Air University Review: http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1981/jul-aug/wenker.htm
Williams, C. J. (2011, 5 17). Five foreign men lose 'extraordinary rendition' case. Retrieved 3 5, 2013, from Los Angeles Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/17/local/la-me-rendition-20110517
Zagarins, J. (n.d.). The Man From Red October. Retrieved from LABAS: The Lithuania E-Zine: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/LABAS/edition4.html
