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let's keep in mind that the soldiers disobeyed the order not based on political or ideological grounds, but that they were improperly equipped for the mission.
still, the military operates on very strict chain-of-command principles. to a certain extent, the right equipment for the job is the equipment your commanding officer signs off on. if the chain of command considers the equipment sufficient, then it is the soldier's duty to carry out the mission as best as he/she can. if the mission fails, the officers in charge will be put in the hotseat. as the case usually is in war, a failed mission often means dead soldiers... but sadly that is the stakes of such an enterprise.
my two cents: it sounds as if the whole platoon objected, this smacks of poor leadership more than cowardice or a lack of confidence in the lawfulness of their objective.
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
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