Neglect of duty is a military offense for failing to perform a legal or moral duty. Dereliction of duty is a similar term used for elected officials. The consequences for military personnel can result in discharge or imprisonment, while elected officials may not be reelected or impeached. Two books, one about Clinton and one about Johnson, discuss dereliction of duty. Abandonment is a synonym for derelict.
Neglect of duty broadly refers to the negligent or willful failure to perform a legal or moral duty beyond a reasonable expectation. In fact, it is a specific offense under military law. According to the various norms of military law, evasion of a duty or failure to comply with an order from a superior can result in this charge. The term has also been included in the title of two books focusing on issues facing former presidents Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton.
While dereliction of duty refers to a specific military offence, the same term is used to describe the occurrence of an elected officer failing to perform his or her elected duty. The result of such an elected official’s desertion is not the same as the military consequence. Under military law, a person convicted of dereliction of duty can be discharged for dishonorable behavior or misconduct from their branch of service and can lose their pay or be sentenced to six months in prison. Conversely, an elected official accused of doing so may not be reelected or be impeached.
The 2003 book, Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How Bill Clinton Endangered America’s Long-Term National Security, written by Robert Patterson, discusses how President Clinton neglected to lead the country with responsibility and honor in the Colonel’s opinion Patterson, who served as President Clinton’s military aide. The similar title Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam, written by H. R. McMaster and published in 1998, discusses Washington’s political roles before and during the Vietnam War.
Abandonment is a form of the word derelict, derived from the Latin word derelictus, and is synonymous with ‘negligent’, ‘negligent’, ‘abandoned’ and ‘desert’. Derelict is also used in slang to refer to a wanderer or a person who refuses to take responsibility for their actions.
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