MAUSTON, Wis. — Veterans for Peace, Chapter 25 of Madison, today erected a large roadside billboard near the Camp Douglas exit on I-90/94 just outside Mauston. The billboard features an image of Uncle Sam pointing directly at passing motorists above the message: “Active-Duty, Reserve, and National Guard: I Want YOU to Refuse Unlawful Orders.”

Tomorrow, July 15 at 6 p.m., the Rev. David Couper will speak at the Mauston Public Library to explain why the chapter placed the billboard and to discuss the legal and moral duty of military and other government personnel to refuse unlawful orders. Couper is a Marine Corps veteran, the retired Chief of Police for Madison (1972–1993), and an Episcopal priest.

In his talk, “But I Was Only Following Orders: The Line Between Duty and Conscience,” Couper will trace the legal principle that a member of the military must refuse an illegal order with historical and current day examples. He will describe the “manifest unlawfulness” standard under Articles 90–92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and the protections service members have under the 1988 Military Whistleblower Protection Act (10 U.S.C. § 1034).

“We are not a nation built on blind obedience to a dictator, a king, a general, or a president,” Couper says in his prepared remarks. “We are a democracy of free moral actors. Our founding document doesn’t begin with ‘I, the Supreme Leader.’ It begins with ‘We the People.'” Couper will draw on his own experience as a Marine, a 20-year police chief, and more than 30 years as a parish priest to argue that a service member’s oath is to the Constitution, not to any individual leader, and that this duty applies equally to police officers and other public servants.

EVENT DETAILS

What: “But I Was Only Following Orders: The Line Between Duty and Conscience,” a talk by the Rev. David C. Couper

When: July 15, 2026, 6 p.m.

Where: Mauston Public Library, Mauston, Wis.

About Veterans for Peace

Veterans for Peace is a national organization of military veterans and allies working to abolish war as an instrument of national policy. Chapter 25, based in Madison, Wis., organizes education and advocacy campaigns, including this billboard campaign reminding service members of their legal and moral duty to refuse unlawful orders.