Officers and enlisted personnel, in the U.S. Armed Forces and elsewhere, regularly take an oral oath to support and defend the primary convening document (i.e. constitution, articles of confederation, ruling laws and statutes) and/or the supreme leader of the nation-state.
Dissent by military officers falls into two main categories: violent and non-violent.
In essence, when a military officer, military leader chooses to oppose the orders given to him by his superior officers or national leader, he/she must decide whether his counter-action will be violent or non-violent in nature and in aim.
With respect to recent history, United States and UK involvement in the War in Iraq has produced notable dissenters who, in their words, feel that war crimes have been perpetrated by American and British forces in Iraq.
Both Watada and Kendall-Smith dissent on the grounds that their respective governments are party to war crimes in Iraq.