Clockwork Mouse, you say,
"Soldiers (and I include sailors and airmen) cannot cherry-pick the orders they will obey".
NO, NO, NO and NO! A serviceman is OBLIGED to ensure that an order is legal before he carries it out. Mindless obediance is something that sent the Germans down the wrong route a few years ago. If I felt I truly served in a Service that did not wish its officers and men to be independent thinking human beings, my resignation would have been submitted a long time ago.
I make no judgement on the merits of the case involved here - although it is clear that the Government cannot afford to lose it. But I disagree with Impinger - Kendall-Smith is right to act the way he has, while still remaining an officer. He appears to be acting on principle, so why should he relinquish the Queen's uniform while he persues what he (apparently) believes is right?