Arizona Senator Mark Kelly was a Captain in the U.S. Navy, retiring about 15 years ago after 25 years of active service. Now, he may be called back into the Navy for the sole purpose of facing a court martial for giving “illegal orders”. This goes into the category “if it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny”.

The “illegal order” was given by Senator Kelly when he participated in that (in my mind, not very well thought out) video with five other Democratic legislators, purportedly telling current members of the U.S. military that they do not have to follow illegal orders.

The thing that is weird is that it is obvious that members of the military do not have to follow illegal orders. How this works in practice is another, and more difficult, question – how does someone decide if an order is illegal; if someone believes in good faith that an order is illegal and it turns out they are wrong, are they liable for failing to respond to a legal order; if someone follows an illegal order, believing it to be a legal order or arguably a legal order, and it is turns out that the order was indeed illegal, can they be liable for their activity (whether or not it could constitute a war crime). And so on, and so on.

But that is for another day. Today, the question is whether someone can be called back into active duty to be court martialled for giving an “illegal order” when what they said was neither an “order” nor a misstatement of a legal rule. And, if Kelly gets a notice that he is again active duty Captain Kelly, how does he argue against such a notice? Is that a civil or a military question?

Pete Hegseth was also in the military. He was on active duty three times, for a total of ten years or so. He became an Army Major, several ranks below a Navy Captain, but that isn’t really relevant. Could he be called back for crimes committed after he left the service? This goes into the “Who knows?” category. But it might be a relevant one.

Going back for a minute to substance…..Does Hegseth, our wanna be War Secretary who is in fact Secretary of Defense, think that this is a false statement: “Members of the military can disobey illegal orders”? Does that mean that he thinks that this is a true statement: “Members of the military must obey illegal orders”?

If it can be construed that the answer to that question is “yes” and, in his current position, he is in fact telling members of the military that they must obey illegal orders, isn’t he in fact giving an illegal order and, when the administration next changes, can’t he be called back into the military and court martialled for giving an illegal order? It seems that this situation and Senator Kelly’s situation are pretty parallel. Only one major difference. Kelly’s “order” was not illegal, but Hegseth’s “order” was clearly illegal.

But all of this nonsense (and I think it is truly nonsense) fades when compared to the real problem that today exists and tomorrow may become exacerbated: war against Venezuela.

Members of the military are now being ordered to take actions that are resulting in the deaths of civilians allegedly engaged in the drug trade, and there is the clear possibility that the concentration of military forces in the Caribbean is a prologue to an invasion of Venezuela for the purpose of deposing the Maduro regime (a regime that has destroyed the Venezuelan economy and Venezuelan society). The American Congress seems firmly opposed to this action, is not going to issue a declaration of war, and may take action, by resolution or otherwise, to try to stop the Trump regime from pursuing this path. There are and will be members of Congress who will loudly claim Trump’s actions, on various grounds, to be illegal.

In this instance, what are members of the military expected to do? And what are officers leading troops expected to do if they have troops under their command who refuse to obey orders on this basis? These are real questions.

As the Trump administration goes from failure to failure, dangers abound. Will questions like these discourage young Americans from joining the military? This is a serious question, as recruitment is always a challenge. Similar questions are being asked in other contexts. What if potential immigrants stop coming to the United States, or are not allowed in? Farm workers, construction workers, nurses, doctors, scientists? Jobs will remain unfilled, tasks undone, the country vastly weakened.

Eliminating Trump and MAGA from power is more necessary than ever, and I suggest we all work to do just that.

And here is the final question of the day. Having suggested that regime change is crucial in the United States, and that all Americans should work to advance that goal, have I given an “illegal order”? I was discharged from the United States Army Reserve in September of 1973, having fulfilled my six year obligation with distinction (okay, not with distinction). Can they call me back into active service to court martial me? I’m not scared. Sergeant Hessel, reporting for duty.