Should soldiers serving on active duty be allowed to protest a war in which they are fighting? Why or why not?

Question

A number of servicemen who appeared on "60 Minutes" have sent a petition, called "Appeal For Redress," to their individual members of Congress, letting them know that "Staying in Iraq will not work" and it's "tine for U.S. troops to come home." The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Reppresentative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. Should soldiers serving on active duty be allowed to protest a war in which they are fighting? Why or why not?

Answer 1

I am completely against the war in Iraq, but I think that active duty servicemen have no right to protest. They are all volunteers, and took an oath to basically go do what their superiors all the way up to the President (no matter how stupid he is) tell them to.
A soldier that gets out of the military can protest all he likes, but one who volunteered and is still doing the job shouldn't. That almost borders on sedition.

Answer 2

Wow this is a good question. I keep going back and forth. So here is my final answer. I believe that if the soldiers who have already fought over there and no what it is like then they might have a case. I have a big military family and I am marrying a Marine. My man says that this war is never going to end. The Iraqi people and even the police do not want them to be there and they will not hold a democracy no one cares. It is so horrible over there all his friends say...sad. My fiance says that He speaking for himself wants to help Iraqi's over there and they have done a lot to help rebuild them but it goes unappreciated by many and he even said that the police there are turning into insurgents because of more money and same with the Iraqi military. On the other hand there could be those in the military that are just scared or sick of going over there. Frankly, I do not see an end to this war. We can not just pull all these troops out of there. It will be nuts if we do that. But a graduate pull out should be in store.

Answer 3

No, I don't believe they should. Would you be allowed to picket your place of employment, because you don't like the job they are asking you to do, and keep your job? We have an all volunteer military. If they don't want to go and do what the military tells them to, then they shouldn't join up. Come election time, they are perfectly within their rights to vote for a candidate that will change the situation, but during a time of war they should not be allowed to protest. It will also cause dissention in the ranks. How close is the dividing line between protesting the war and refusing to fight it. An army that won't fight becomes nothing more than another government social program.

Answer 4

Absolutely not. The U.S. Armed Forces is an all-volunteer force, and when you sign up you agree to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the officers appointed over you. If you want to enjoy the benefits of wearing the uniform you can't pick and choose when and where you want to fight -- you do what you're told and you go when and where you're told. BOTTOM LINE: When you join the military you are freely handing over some of your rights, and one of them is the right to protest a war. No one forces any man or woman to join the military, so if you don't want to play by the military's rules then don't wear the uniform. Those members who filed this so-called "Appeal for Redress" should all face disciplinary action for their indiscretion.

Answer 5

Any soldier can do as the ones on 60 minutes did. There are avenues of appeal or protest. ( you cannot march in protest in uniform ). Every country has to have an ordered military, so there are limitations as to what troops can do. You cannot decide, gee it is really nice weather today, why don't we halt this offensive for a couple days.

Answer 6

It's an interesting question. Setting today's laws aside I'm trying to figure out what makes sense. Two thoughts occur.

A successful military requires swift and decisive action and not debate.

Soldiers on the front lines are among the most informed people on the war (at least from one perspective) and therefore, their thoughts and opinions are valuable.

So, if I got to write the laws I would say that off duty soldiers can say whatever they want but that once they are on duty they follow orders without comment or question.

Answer 7

No, plus it's against the military's rules.
They cannot be in uniform, or show signs that they are in the military when protesting. However, you can attend protests...but it's a bad idea.

Why join the military if you aren't willing to go to war? Duh, that's part of the job criteria.

The military is not a union. You can't just go on strike..that's treason.

Even though we have the right to protest, the military also has a seperate set of rules for us to follow.

Answer 8

You sign away your civil rights when you swear the oath of allegiance. An army is an organization based on discipline, obedience to orders and respect of civilian authority. Failure to observe these principals will either cause one of two things:
1. You get an ineffective, undisciplined army that can not be counted on to accomplish any task or..
2. You get a independent political army that picks and chooses it wars and can pick and chose its Presidents (Junta).

So for the sake of the Army and the constitution I'd say prosecute them.

Answer 9

Absolutely not. It is contrary to good order and discipline. They are not individuals anymore, they are soldiers, their duty is to do what their commander tells them to. When they enlisted they were told that they would be required to do this, so now that they are told to, they shouldn't be surprised that they are fighting a war they don't want to. It just as bad as the service member who says "I only joined for the college tutition" .

Answer 10

Yes, They have as much a right as we do, They are getting tired of being over there and they want to be home with their families. These soldiers don't get much time with their families, they come back from one tour over there just to get ready to back in a year. They don't have alot of time with their families and they want to be home. They are humans too, just cause they are soldiers don't make them any different!!!!!!!