Are Service Members Justified to Ignore "Illegal Orders"?

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is the kind of guy most people would admire. He served in the military. He was a fighter pilot as well as a test pilot, and he was an astronaut. That in itself is pretty impressive, but Mark took it a step further when he decided to run for the U.S. Senate (reputed to be the world’s most exclusive club).

However, Mark became severely infected with a potentially lethal disease which affects almost everyone who goes to Washington despite their best intentions. That disease isn’t anything like COVID, TB, or cancer, which can, at least, be treated. No, instead this disease is worse in that it impairs one’s ability to think clearly and rationally. That disease is commonly known “partisanship”.

Normally, most people run for political office with the best of intentions. They or someone they’ve known, had experienced some form of perceived injustice.  Of course, this “injustice” isn’t on the same order as what affects most us (typically more hoops to jump, gas prices, or another tax hike), which certainly distances their concerns from the average voter they allegedly represent.

However, the way the system is set up, it quickly purges itself from anyone who hopes to reform the system or actually serve the voters.  It’s not that the system is broken or anything. Quite the contrary, it functions exactly as intended, which us to represent those with very deep pocket while giving lip service to the masses.

 Congress is, after all, for millionaires despite their annual salary of $174,000 plus bonuses depending on committee assignments and/or positions which can substantially increase their official income. As a rule, if you’re not a millionaire going in (which is rare), you will be coming out. For instance, let’s take a look at Senator Kelly’s income since this article is about him.

Senator Kelly’s net worth is estimated to be around $20.4 million dollars. His biggest donors come from education sector (including the University of Arizona and Arizona State University), Amazon, healthcare, the legal industry, financial services and business consulting (ExxonMobil is a substantial donor). Lastly, the Democratic Party as well as some liberal leaning groups, were also some rather substantial contributors.  He (naturally) has his own leadership PAC called “Liftoff PAC” which, between 2019 and of the end of 2024, had raised about $96,670,347 (as of the end of 2024, it still had around $4.4 million on hand).  

Senator Kelly also serves on some powerful and influential committees such as Energy and Natural Resources (think oil, gas, and coal) as will as Environment and Public Works. However, perhaps the most powerful committee he sits on is the Armed Services Committee which deals with national defense and the military. It is this committee which we are most concerned with given what Senator Kelly said, but before we do that, it’s important to briefly look at his background in order to grasp the gravity of his remarks.

Senator Mark Kelly  was born in 1961 in Orange City, New Jersey. His parents, Richard and Patricia, are both retired police officers. He has a twin brother by the name of Scott. Mark graduated from Mountain High School in 1982. In 1986, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with the highest honors in the areas of marine engineering and nautical science. In 1994, he obtained a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.  

From 1987 through 2011, Mark served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy and served on the aircraft carrier, USS Midway. During Operation Desert Storm, he flew 39 combat missions over Iraq. After the war, Kelly then attended the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School where he logged in over 5000 flight hours in more than 50 different types of aircraft and performed 375 carrier based landings. He ultimately rose to the rank of Captain.

Then form 1996 through 2011, Kelly joined NASA as an astronaut (along with his brother, Scott). He served as pilot on the “Endeavor” in 2001 and spent 117 days with his crew onboard the International Space Station. In 2006 he piloted the Shuttle “Discovery” , which he was to command in 2008 and again in 2011.

After retiring from NASA in 2011, Kelly went to work as a consultant in the Aerospace Industry, serving mainly as a consultant and strategic advisor. He was also a co-founder of “World View”, which developed high altitude balloons. The Chinese company Tencent was one of their largest investors. He was also an advisor for Space X, founded by Elon Musk.

Meanwhile, from 2011 through 2016, Mark Kelly became a paid speaker in the U.S. and China, speaking on behalf of Shaklee, a nutritional supplement manufacturer and distributor. He also spoke at Goldman Sachs, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and AmerisourceBergen, a drug manufacturer.  

 Beginning in 2013, Kelly began testing the political waters be getting involved with various groups looking to curtail gun violence (his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Gifford, had been the victim of gun violence). Kelly is a strong advocate of stricter background checks and efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

Finally, in 2020 Mark Kelly ran for the seat formerly held by ex-Navy pilot, Senator John McCain in a special election and won. He publicly refused corporate PAC money but did accept money from corporate executives and lobbyists. He was reelected in 2022.

Given Senator Kelly’s remarkable career, it’s puzzling why he and five other elected Democrat officials (four of whom were former military) made a video in November 2025 urging military service members to disobey what they termed, “illegal orders” by the Commander-in-Chief, who in this case happens to be President Donald Trump. This is the stuff mutinies are made of. 

In addition to Senator Kelly, the video included Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO), who was a former U.S. Army Ranger, Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and former Naval officer, Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), a former U.S. Navy reservist, Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), a former Air Force officer, and Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and the individual responsible for releasing the video. 

The U.S. Department of Defense issued a statement on November 24^th that the matter would be investigated for “serious allegations of misconduct” and possible violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (commonly known as the “UCMJ”), which covers the conduct all active and retired members of the military. Accordingly, Kelly and the other four Democrats who had previously served in the military could be recalled to face serious disciplinary action up to and including court martial. Any disciplinary action against Senator Slotkin would likely come from Justice Department at the behest of the CIA. 

 President Trump responded on social media by saying that those individuals who made the video (including Kelly) should be charged with sedition and “hanged”, which seems rather extreme. It should be noted that Kelly voted in February 2021 for Trump to be convicted of inciting an insurrection in his second impeachment trial. Kelly has also been a vocal critic of Trump and his policies.  Obviously, there’s no love lost on either side.

As someone who served in the military (U.S. Navy), I am quite familiar with the UCMJ and consequences of disobeying a direct order from a senior officer (I served on command staff). The military functions on order, discipline, and that include following the chain of command and carrying out your orders. The military is not a democracy or union .You don't get to pick and chose which orders to follow or not. 

As I was repeatedly reminded throughout my time in the military that you are to carry out the orders of your superiors to the best of your ability. It isn’t your job or responsibility to question an order. If you have an objection or question, you are free to bring it to the attention of your ranking officer in your chain of command, but only after having followed through with the order.

For someone of the caliber of Mark Kelly, a U.S. Senator, former military officer and Navy fighter pilot, and astronaut, to tell service members to disobey or ignore any order they believe to be “illegal” is to jeopardize the command structure and possibly imperil others as well as put the mission at risk. The average soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine, doesn’t know all the reasons or wherefores of a particular order. They know only what is needed to accomplish a job and nothing more.

At the very minimum, Senator Kelly’s remarks, as well as that of the other five Democrats in the video, were unwarranted and potentially harmful. If they had made those same remarks during a time of war, the consequences could be far more serious. As it is, it’s possible these individuals could be receive an official reprimand, which would tarnish an otherwise stellar record in Kelly’s case. That seems, at least to me, to be rather extreme and ill-advised on his part just over partisan politics and the irrationality it causes or his personal distain for the Commander-in-Chief.  

 

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OpenSecrets: Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly

Gabby Giffords

Senator Mark Kelly

Video: Kelly: Illegal Orders

Video: FBI seeks interviews of 6 Democrats as “illegalorders” warning video sparks firestorms

What Are We To Make Of The Current UFO Craze?

In case you've been living under a rock (rather than living on one; third from the sun), you've no doubt noticed that UFOs (aka UAP for unidentified aerial phenomena) has become all the rage lately. It likely stems from the recent footage, mostly released from the U.S. Navy, of some strange flying objects (nicknamed "tic tacs" by fighter pilots based on their shape) which seem to defy aerodynamics and reach speeds we can only dream of (these objects have been clocked at speeds exceeding 20,000+ miles per hour). There's even footage shot by a submarine of one diving into the ocean and coming out again.

Interest in UFOs and aliens go back thousands of years, at least based on some authors, and dozens of television shows like "Ancient Aliens" which appears on the History Channel (similar shows also appear on other channels including the Travel and Science channels), not to mention movies and pop culture. There are conventions and all sorts of associations and clubs which focus on the study of UFOs.

Some claim that Mankind is the product of these alien visitors thanks to genetic manipulation, while others claim they provided Humanity with all sorts of technology and know-how as pseudo-gods in the likeness of Prometheus or Sekhmet who, along with hundreds of other gods, gifted Humanity with fire, taught us medicine, agriculture, and smithing.  This is even true of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam which credits a single entity rather than a pantheon of gods.  

In fact, every civilization and culture to have existed or currently exists on this rather insignificant blue and green orb floating in the backwater of a relatively small and nondescript solar system attributes their origins to those from "up there", not to mention their accomplishments or even their downfall. 

However, starting around 1933, interest, along with reported encounters with these mysterious beings, seems to have taken off. During the later stages of the war, Allied pilots used to report rapidly moving bright balls of light ("foo fighters") harassing or at least monitoring their flights over Germany which were attributed to being one of the Luftwaffe's "Wunderwaffe" or "wonder weapons". These "foo fighters" are thought of as forerunners of EMPs, or electromagnetic impulses designed to knock out a plane's electronics by way of an electrical discharge.

It was learned that after the war, German pilots were also experiencing similar contact with these mysterious balls of light, which reached speeds of over 200 mph, and had no explanation as to what they were.  Nevertheless, maybe these orbs had something to do with the Nazis after all, and the subsequent increase in UFO sightings after the war.  Here's how.

Starting with Hitler's election as Chancellor in 1933, the Nazis went all out with their rallies, thanks in large part to Nazi Architect Albert Speer, who was put in charge of the organizational and technical aspects of the party rallies. The most popular (and notable) feature was the "Cathedral of Lights", which employed 130 to 150 heavy anti-aircraft searchlights aimed straight up into the night sky to form large columns of light which were powerful enough to be seen from space on a clear night.

Each searchlight (either a type 34 or 37) used a 150 centimeter (which is just under five foot in width) highly polished parabolic glass reflector. Each emitted  990 million candelas and could see targets over three miles into the sky. They were powered by a 24 kilowatt generator, driven by a 51 horsepower 8 cylinder engine. That is a massively powerful searchlight, and to think that they were using 130 to 150 of them at any given time.

If you were an alien from other planet who just so happened to be looking our way anytime from the 1933 through 1938, it's just possible you would see a unusual---certainly not natural---focused column of lights emanating from one specific location which might peak your interest. But that wasn't all. If you were also listening, you may catch something else too.

In 1936, the Nazis hosted the Olympics in Berlin. This was "officially" billed as projecting world harmony through friendly competition as well as Germany's first major  "coming out" event and reentry into the community of nations since WWI .  For the Nazis, however, it was time to show off not just the superiority of German athletes, but how robust the economy was and all the innovations Germany had taken the lead in.

One of those innovations was the ability to broadcast the Olympic worldwide to 41 countries through an early version of television for the first time ever. Although it was broadcasted at a modest 40 MHz, it was still powerful to break through the earth's Ionosphere and into space. Hitler later used similar powerful transmitters when making several of his speeches.

So, if our voyaging alien voyeur had the technology, it's possible they could have been able to watch (or at least listen) to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. At the very minimal, they would have been able to hear Hitler's speeches as they reached into space.  Consider that for a moment.  Their first introduction to Humanity would have come from Nazi Germany and their first human image or voice belonged to Adolf Hitler. Gives new meaning to "take us to your leader"...or should it be "Der Fuehrer"?

Nevertheless, contact (or alleged contact) has been on the rise ever since. There has been countless sightings, supposed abductions (some of which can only be summed up as sexual attacks), passive attacks on military bases housing nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, sites where there has been nuclear testing, and on nuclear powered ships. In addition, they appear to have been monitoring our space flights, be it to the moon, satellites and shuttle launches, the International Space Station, and so forth.

What's more, it isn't just us. Numerous other nations have reported similar events, ranging from Russia, China, Mexico, England, France, and just about every other technically advanced country on the planet. This is truly global. Some astrophysics have cited possible radio signals as proof of possible alien contact. 

We can't forget crop circles, which may be important messages from space. Then again, they may be nothing more than alien graffiti or more earthbound hucksters. But what about cattle mutilations which appear to be done in the dead of the night with precision skill? How do you explain those?

So, what's really going on? Is there anything to all this alien "visitors" business or is it just massive hallucination coupled with some wishful thinking and maybe some down home trickery thrown in for good measure? Could it be one big cover up by a cabal of secret groups, the military, and intelligence agencies to create a "New World Order"? If it is, it has to be the most elaborate hoax ever carried out. 

We, as a species, have been scanning the sky since our beginning. We understood early on that the stars, moon and sun could help us determine the best time to plant and harvest crops. They could help us anticipate the seasons, and even predict the weather. We saw fire, first realized as a lightning strike. It was a powerful force, which we interrupted as some great entity above us giving us both a tool and a warning of their power. We later assigned other events we experienced to new gods, and eventually, at least for those in living in Canaan, to a single god (possible carried over from the "Aton" of Egypt).  

However, with the rise of science, logic and reasoning, the power of the gods consolidated ever smaller, and eventually began to fade. It turned out that the world wasn't flat. The sun didn't revolved around us. We weren't the center of the universe; the lights in the sky weren't pinholes, angels didn't pour water down, and no one was infallible. Yet we kept looking skyward for answers. 

But what are we looking for? Is our search part of some deep innate longing to reconnect with our ancient space faring "ancestors" who planted...or abandoned...us on this rock eons ago? Some claim that earth was/is a giant laboratory  and we're the lab rats. Others claim earth is penal colony.

Given our unruliness and warlike behavior as a species, it may be a bit of both. But are we being breed for violence or servitude? Maybe, like in the Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man", we're simply being cultivated to be the "other red meat". Now, that's a scary thought isn't it?  

Interestingly, NASA recently acknowledged spending one million dollars advising the world's religions on what to expect when---not if---aliens decide to pay us a visit. It will certainly shake a lot of people's faith, not to mention weaken the hold organized religion and even government has on many of us.

Maybe we search the heavens for another reason---fear of being along in the universe. After all, we are a highly social species. We don't like being totally alone. Perhaps it's a quest to seek out someone to save us from ourselves; an intergalactic "savior" who can solve all our problems for us, both globally and individually. Instant Nirvana without really trying.

We know that we're in serious trouble, and not just locally or regionally, but globally. We are facing multiple disasters, mostly of our own making, plus a few thrown in from Mother Nature for good measure. We know that our so-called "leaders" are a bunch of super rich buffoons faking it without ever really making it. All they're doing in running a giant ponzi scheme at our expense.

In truth, they haven't a clue. They create more problems than they solve. Are we hoping that some intergalactic race will come to this planet and save our collective butts. Isn't that what some religions teach---saving the deserving few while leaving the rest to a fate of their own making?

Mankind has been looking for someone to get us out of the mess we create over and over since time immortal. We never learn from our mistakes.  In the beginning, it was "the gods"; a whole plethora of beings with the their own assigned powers, who enjoy tormenting and occasionally blessing us mere mortals.  Then it became a single deity playing good cop/bad cop. Now, we realize it was us all along.

Seeking out intelligent life in space ultimately serves to remind us of our isolation. All we have is each other, yet we squabble like spoiled children with sharp objects. We want to know there's someone out there like "ET" or a pointy ear-like "Mr. Spock" to bail us out if we go too far (I suspect they're actually badass biker types that think of humans as a bucket full of KFC thighs. They just need to find a biscuit).

Dr. Werner von Braun, the father of not just Nazi rocketry (the V1 and V2 were the world's first cruise missile and ICBM respectively), but also of NASA and our missions to the moon, was allegedly asked once where he and the other Nazis scientists who came to be part of "Operation Paperclip" came up with the technology that put Nazi technology over a generation ahead of everyone else? Supposedly Dr. Braun simply smiled, pointed up, and said "them".

Perhaps he was joking. Perhaps the event never really happened and it's just urban folklore. But, regardless, Nazi technology was decades ahead of everyone else. There was a rumored UFO crash in the Black Forest region of Germany, near Coburg, in 1936 (how they fly billions of miles through space, dodging asteroids and space debris, get here and have a wreck is beyond me). They had occult groups which actively sought out contact with aliens, and there were all sorts of weird aircraft such as a prototype of B-1 type stealth bomber, "flying disks", and, of course, "Der Glock" ("the Bell") which, if we're to believe the stories, was something of a time machine which used electromagnetic energy.

Regardless though, we won't stop until we know for sure. Perhaps our exploration of space will eventually create our own version of an alien through modified humans like Star Trek's "Borg"; individuals augmented with artificial prosthetics to enhance our strength or endurance, or compensate for a lack of gravity, couple with artificial intelligence (perhaps a merger with AI), leaving the rest of us to deal with the increase radiation resulting from a depleted ozone layer, polluted air, and synthetic foods made from who knows what (I saw the movie "Soylent Green", which takes place in 2022). Time will tell. But, as Buddha once said, "the trouble is that you think you have time". 

 

The Cathedral of Light of Nazi Rallies, 1937

Will Hitler Be the First Person Aliens See?

Why is Congress being briefed on UFOs---and what they learn?

If they're aliens in those UFOs, they must not like us

Haunebu

The master's voice