re: Who is Vindman and what did he do?

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He doesn't understand the difference between skipping a step in the chain of command and going outside the chain of command.

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The hypothetical he presented isn’t even skipping a step in the chain. You’ve met with your immediate superior and failed to get a satisfactory resolution to your issue. Therefore, you take it up the ladder a step.

That’s EXACTLY how it’s supposed to work.

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he officers and enlisted should always just “know” the correct answer in every tough situation.

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There aren't "tough" question concerning the chain of command, no matter how hard you try to make it.

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EB = executive branch?

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EB = executive branch

The only person I see lacking intelligence is you. You have had the law clearly defined for you but you continue to try different scenarios. You either lack the ability to understand or you are being disgenerous to the posters that have tried explaing facts to you either way its embarrassing for you.

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LTC

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Stopped right there

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I would have thought that one reason for the existence of the JAG would be to provide advice to officers and enlisted regarding such matters as the UCMJ and application of the chain of command.

You seem to be telling me that this is not correct. The officers and enlisted should always just “know” the correct answer in every tough situation.

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You’re still not getting it.

Officers and enlisted are supposed to know the UCMJ...officers need to have a little better understanding of it as they’re the ones who mete out NJD (non-judicial punishment) and comprise court-martial boards/boards of inquiry. Enlisted are required to have at least a rudimentary knowledge of it (NCOs a bit more).

JAG officers are the authorities on the UCMJ. They’re available for consultation on the finer points of military law and as defense attorneys for defendants in courts-martial.

The bottom line is this: if as Captain X, Major Y orders me to have my company machine gun a village full of innocents, my duty under the UCMJ is to disobey that order as an illegal and immoral one. However it is also my duty to inform Major Y of my intent to disobey said illegal and immoral order and to give him an opportunity to rethink and rescind it. Failing that, I take it up to Lt. Col. Z.

I have covered my arse. JAG doesn’t even enter into it, unless the order is illegally carried out or I’m court-martialed for NOT carrying it out.

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he followed civilian protocols

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Says you.

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I have covered my arse. JAG doesn’t even enter into it, unless the order is illegally carried out or I’m court-martialed for NOT carrying it out.

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I understand that. I am just a bit surprised that the military expects that level of unilateral decision-making from every swinging dick that made it through OCS, without the ability to consult someone like a JAG officer before putting his career on the line.

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Let’s say that he had gone to Morrison first, who (being a civilian) probably would have told him to to follow civilian NSC protocol and consult NSC counsel.

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That's quite a bit of assumption you're starting off with.

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On the grand scale (grander than Vindman’s future in the officer corps), isn’t this a case of “machs nix?”

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No, it's a question of him *knowing* the correct thing to do, and then purposefully choosing not to do it. Now why would he do such a thing?

It's almost like he wanted to make an end run around his chain of command for purely political reasons...

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I understand that. I am just a bit surprised that the military expects that level of unilateral decision-making from every swinging dick that made it through OCS, without the ability to consult someone like a JAG officer before putting his career on the line.

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Here make it worse My Airman and NCOs are held to that standard as well. If I issue and unlawful order and said Airman executes that unlawful order not only am I going to jail, so is he.