A second patrol...

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg got it right several years ago when they produced Band of Brothers.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the film production, it's based on the real life experiences of E Company--more commonly referred to as "Easy Company".  The series succeeds in portraying the shortcomings, bravery, and wisdom of the individual soldiers, and company as a whole, as they prepared and then pushed their way through Nazi-occupied Europe.

One of the episodes focuses on the Battle of Bastogne.  The small Belgian community became a focal point during the Battle of the Bulge as it served as a strategic crossroads for supply routes.  Towards the end of the battle, Easy Company was given an order that would take them into harms way.

The orders and objectives for the first patrol were relatively simple: cross the river and capture commanders behind enemy lines.  The men were to target a building using the cover of darkness and the element of surprise to their advantage.  The young soldiers were not thrilled, to say the least, when given the orders.  It was risky and they knew their time on the front lines was coming to an end.  Even so, they obeyed and proceeded forward.

The end results were mixed: 2 captured, 1 dead.  Neither of the captured Nazis possessed useful information and it could, therefore, be argued nothing was gained by the patrol.  However, top brass viewed it as a successful operation and gave orders for a second patrol the next day.

The second patrol was to proceed under the same guidelines as that of the first--only the men of Easy Company were now required to venture deeper into enemy territory and would be operating without the element of surprise.  Add in the fact that the men knew they were to be leaving the next morning and no one wanted to take part in this mission.

The commander of Easy Company gave the orders and then ... told the men to sleep in.  They would make up a story the next morning.

Given this scenario, I thought this a very wise decision.  My roommate strongly disagreed.

So I ask you, my faithful readers: What would you do? Is it ever acceptable to disobey orders? and if so, when?