Both of these articles tell the stories, generations apart, of military leaders who deviated from the chain of command to follow the dictates of their consciences. In the case of Lt. Withers, he stayed true to a higher law during WWII by housing and caring for two prisoners from Dachau in violation of military orders. Lt. Withers was a black man who at the time was facing legalized discrimination in his own homeland, and yet ws fighting for the liberation of the Jews. His ability to identify with the prisoners led him to make a humanitarian leadership decision that was, in fact, deviant.
The case of Col. Dowdy, more recently, is similar. Dowdy was relieved of his command during the Iraq War because he deviated from the explicit Marine strategy of speeding through enemy territory. Instead, Dowdy wanted to assess the level of resistance in the interest of preserving his men. His deviant behavior was prioritizing men over mission.
Both if these men operated as servant leaders. They made the people they were in charge of their first priority, rather than the wishes of those up the chain. In so doing they both risked their careers, and one lost his.
