i thought this would be clearly stated somewhere but cant seem to find it.
are any of you aware if millitary rank can be called upon outside of a millitary setting, in civillian space. would this vary by country?
bit of a random question, i was watching a movie and my interest was sparked.
more to the point of discussion, if it can infact be used in civillian space to "call rank" on someone, would this be at any order or are there peramters attached?
any ideas?

just for you polytrip
i mean, you see in the movies a soldier of higher rank cammands a lower ranking officer to do something. whether its run into the line of fire or go clean out the toilets. to refuse an order is presumably the part where you get shot.
well, in the wider world, does this strict regimenting system still apply?
....maybe im just watching too many movies

I have no idea what you're talking about.

That is a very interesting question. I personally have concrete idea, but would guess that one can not call rank in a civilian setting unless for some reason they are in combat and active. Perhaps in the case of an emergency they could be commanded. I doubt that anyone could call rank in a civilian setting and order someone to clean a toilet.

I'll ask around for a more definitive answer.

I find that so absurd! How can you relegate your will to someone else no matter what they ask, just because of some arbitrarily imposed 'ranks'. Act according to your conscience, ALWAYS, not following blindly what anybody tells you.

I suggest checking out the Milgram Experiment, it was an amazing experiment in social psychology regarding following orders/authority, and it goes to show how twisted this "following authority" is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Act according to your conscience... yea good advice always. Just make sure you are not fobbed off with fair promises. Smokescreens everywhere ; ) The Milgrams experiments shows how easily one can be manipulated. I think such techniques can easily be abused to mold anyone. So who is your authority? Do you trust/think that authority is there to protect your rights and ideals? Does it protect those rights and ideals?

I admit to have some doubts about the conscience of my authorities. So i gues i will just have to take my own responsibility.

I dont think military ranks apply when you are off duty, as civilians. If it were, that wouldnt make sense.
Now shut up, put your face in the dirt and gimme twenty.

You'd be subject to obey the orders of a person with a military rank if you were employed in a venture that was subject to that chain of command. Whether you, yourself, be a military personnel or civilian. An example would be a civilian working on a military project, that was directed by military personnel. The order given to the civilian would be like an order from a civilian supervisor though, and not carry the same force or penalty for disobedience as an order that would require a soldier to advance into battle.

I think that here there is a distinction between being "active" and "inactive". When inactive, a person in a branch of the military would be like an off-duty police officer. I don't think you could pull rank on an inactive member of the military. In order to be subject to the chain of command they would need to activate the soldier first.

There are many lines of work where people are bound by certain rules even when they're not active. I don't know if following commands of a person of higher rank falls under this, but organisations involved in national security and defence are always a bit 'special' in this regard.

In emergency situations, you can be called upon at any time.
That would probably mean by someone of higher rank.

I believe in north korea, everybody is a soldier in this regard. Or ordinary citizenship (in the sense of not having to do drill exercises etc. when a person of higher rank wants to get off by letting other people suffer) is not an oficially recognised status.
For china i don't know.
I believe people have some rights there....on paper...that is stuffed somewhere in a drawer in an office of the communist party.

I can imagine the vatican also being a bit special in this regard.
If the pope wants an ordinary citizen of vatican-country to do push-up's, then these commands are officially coming from god himself as i'm correct. God is always higher in rank, when the pope phones through his orders.
This is probably also one of the reasons scandals considering pedophiles wheren't recognised as such: in the church' perspective, people where just following orders from a person in higher rank.

Yeah, as the others have said, civilians are NOT subject to the chain of command.

Given that the president of the US is the commander-in-chief, otherwise that would mean Obama would be able to give anyone an order and expect to be obeyed on penalty of death or jail!

though i agree with peoples sentiments that you should always follow your own beliefs and concience as a rule of thumb. i do feel an exception lies when in a millitary position. in times of war, theres no time for diplomacy; granted you must have faith in your officers.

however, once that is established i think part of the effectiveness of our armies is their inability to question superiors. though not the fairest way around things, i think its the only way to truly be effective. no time to debate whos jumping out the trench first when the enemies are advancing!

endlessness, i studied milgram in pyschology, what really interested me was the cultural differences when repeated around the world. i cant find the details right now (only gave it a quick search) but from what i remember.

there were huge variations depending on country. i think america and england had some of the highest obedience rates- with a great percent shocking to above a very likley fatal level.

abit worrying when you think about it.

You mean like..."i'm obama, commander in chief. Paint your dick green and sing the YMCA-song"?

--Paprika