[Avodah] Wartime Orders

[saulweinreb at comcast.net]

I have a question regarding following orders when one is a soldier at war.  I think that we would all agree that in a battlefield situation one is in a state of pikuash nefesh and should do what is necessary as a soldier.  I doubt there would be much disagreement that a soldier in Iraq is allowed to carry his weapon on shabbos and do what he needs to do for his safety and the safety of the other soldiers.

The question that bothers me is what about in training?  There must be a point where one should not do things during training on shabbos because the environment is not truly a sakkanah.  However, one can also argue that training is a crucial and essential part of fighting a war.  If so, if a soldier decides not to follow orders because it is shabbos, and he doesn't want to carry his weapon (a probable derabbanan) or use his weapon (a probable deoraysah) to what extant can one argue that this endangers the mission and the other soldiers and may be permitted on shabbos?

One can also argue that if he doesn't want to train, he could easily get out of the military, which is not mandatory, at least in the US.  However, if one can choose to be a firefighter, because halachah recognizes that sonme people must choose dangerous professions, why couldn't some people also choose to join the military for the same reason?  A doctor, once he is a doctor, must now save lives on shabbos even though he chose to join.   Why would this be any different?

How does one approach finding the line between what's necessary and what's not?

Just wanted to hear some ideas from the Avodah members.  For those of you that don't know, I happen to be in the US military as a physician for the US Army Reserves (n addition to my private practice).  I am not asking avodah for a psak, just to hear how some of you might handle this issue.

Shaul Weinreb
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