Long ago when I raised my right hand and took an oath to defend the United States of America, I understood that I took an oath to subject myself to discipline. I would do what I was told, and when on duty, do only what I was told. There would be no need to question. I put my faith in the chain of command; that I would receive only legal, meaningful orders, that advanced the cause of my country and my army.
When one attains any military rank, one of the first things one learns is that a good leader is a good follower. You must be able to submit to orders in order to be able to give them. This is the discipline of the chain of command. Military discipline is strict, because personel may become subject to some of the most extreme stresses possible.
Discipline tells the troops what to do and what not to do. Whenever troops rape and pillage, it is regarded by historians as a failure of discipline. Rightly so. When troops torture, murder children, rape women and boys, and kill civilians at will, it is a failure of discipline.
It is a failure of the chain of command. Every command must be a lawful command under military law. Every commander is subject to this stricture, at every level. When the Commander in Chief acts outside the law and the Constitution, and gives unlawful orders, or knowingly allows unlawful orders to be given, it is a failure of the chain of command. It is a failure of discipline. This failure cascades down the chain of command, infecting and corrupting it at every level.
We also see this failure in our domestic political scene. Supporters of This Administration act as though they, too, had raised their right hand and had sworn to follow orders. They will not be forsworn. Yet their orders are illegal. We see that in every government agency, in many media outlets, in Ohio, and in Florida. We see it in the unthinking behavior of This President's supporters.
We have a failure of the chain of command.