Lawful orders

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In the armed forces of the United States, officers (both commissioned and non-commissioned) may issue orders to subordinates in order to carry out assigned duties. These orders are assumed to be lawful (i.e. not requiring illegal actions), and a subordinate disobeys them "at his peril".

In some cases, orders issued by officers are illegal on their face, and subordinates are justified in not carrying them out. An example would be the 1968 massacre of unarmed civilians at My Lai, Vietnam, which was ordered by a U.S. Army lieutenant.