Oath of Office: Can the Military Defend the Constitution against Domestic Enemies

Abstract

This paper examines the portion of the militarys oath whereby military members promise to support and defend the Constitution against domestic enemies. It clarifies what defending the Constitution against domestic enemies means and contends that in some situations U.S. military members cannot defend the literal United States Constitution against these enemies. It provides information military members can use to interpret and execute their oath of office by answering the above questions and illustrating situations when the military can and cannot defend the Constitution against domestic enemies.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 17, 2010
Accession Number
AD1018643

Entities

People

  • Thomas G. Sadlo

Organizations

  • Air War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Civil War
  • Congress
  • Homeland Defense
  • Homeland Security
  • Law
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Public Administration
  • Students
  • Terrorists
  • United States Government
  • United States Northern Command
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies