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Senator Mark Kelly—whom Trump has publicly suggested executing—advised Adm. Frank M. Bradley not to follow illegal orders.

The irony writes itself.

Soldiers used to swear loyalty to emperors, warlords, kings, and dictators. In 1787, the United States broke with that tradition. The founders demanded something radical: loyalty to an idea, not a person. The Constitution, not the commander-in-chief.

This distinction saved lives—and cost them. It's why the officer's oath is different from the enlisted oath. Enlisted personnel swear to "obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice." Officers swear only to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." No mention of obedience to superiors. No pledge to any individual. The framers knew officers needed room to refuse.

The UCMJ makes this explicit. Service members are required to obey lawful orders—and equally required to disobey unlawful ones. Following an illegal order is itself a crime.

We learned this lesson the hard way. In 1934, the German military rewrote its oath from allegiance to the Weimar Constitution to personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler. The shift from constitution to man fused the conscience of the armed forces to the will of a dictator. At Nuremberg, German officers invoked that oath to justify obedience to criminal orders. The tribunal rejected it. "Following orders" became the most infamous failed defense in military history.

Which brings us to the Seditious Six.

That's what Hegseth called them. Six members of Congress. Six veterans. Six people who swore the oath before they ever ran for office—and kept it.

Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. Navy captain. Combat pilot. Shot at dozens of times by anti-aircraft fire. Had a missile blow up next to his airplane. Flew four Space Shuttle missions. Commanded two of them. Spent fifty-four days in orbit.

Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. CIA analyst. Three tours in Iraq alongside the military. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense under Obama. Briefed presidents on the most sensitive national security matters of the day.

Representative Jason Crow of Colorado. Army Ranger. Three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne and 75th Ranger Regiment. Bronze Star recipient.

Representative Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania. Navy officer. Naval Academy graduate. Deployed three times, including with Army Civil Affairs in Iraq.