Mark Kelly and his cohorts know full well that military training is full of cautionary examples when it comes to the Geneva Accords and the Law of Land Warfare. I think back to the western Oklahoma prairie at Fort Sill, where several of us were herded down a test “lane” by the controller who told us we were on LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol). As we walked up a creek bed, we spied a “Vietnamese” man about thirty feet ahead in black pajamas and a cone hat, sleeping under a tree with a hoe at his side. As we approached, he stirred and spotted us. At this point, the controller stopped us to ask what we should do.

LRRP missions are run behind enemy lines, and the patrols travel typically by night and sleep by day. Their job is observation, not confrontation. So maybe, to avoid detection, we needed to “kill” him and hide the body since he would undoubtedly run to alert others and blow our cover. Besides, he was just one guy, and more lives than his were at stake. But murder wasn’t an option. I can’t remember our conclusion, but it may have been something along the lines of, “Let’s tie him up and then head out in a false direction to fool him before we get back on track.” The overarching point was that we didn’t intentionally harm civilians to accomplish our mission. (Yes, that raises WWII bombing questions about Dresden, Tokyo, etc., matters much in play in college classes on the ethics of peace and war. But I don’t think that’s what the Six are talking about. If, though, they think somebody’s planning to carpet bomb Caracas, they should say so.)

A couple of years later, at Fort Benning, they showed us film scenarios, one involving a unit’s approach to a minefield. They’d taken some prisoners, and an NCO suggested that the officer bring them up front to lead the way through that danger zone. Better to let them -- the guys who’d been trying to kill you just hours earlier -- bear the risk of tripping off explosions.

But, when our instructors stopped the projector for discussion, they didn’t even bother to ask our opinion. The answer was simple and decisive: “Don’t even think about it!” And we soon learned the Five S’s of prisoner treatment: Search, Silence, Segregate, Safeguard, and Speed.

At the same time, there was an object lesson a block or two down from my lodging: Another second lieutenant, William Calley, sat behind bars. A few years earlier, he’d overseen the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, and the Army had dealt decisively with his illegal order.

So, I would say to the Asinine Six, “Put up or shut up.” Of course, illegal orders are illegal -- a tautology -- but what responsible, concrete counsel are you offering beyond provocative insinuation? Absent that, shame on you.

Image: DoW