“Once SCOTUS rules as mentioned above, all that remains is for those who depend upon the authority of the POTUS to legitimize their official activities to respect the Constitutional chain of command by giving full weight and effect to the decision of the SCOTUS.”
I am fully sympathetic to what you all think and feel. However, as a commissioned officer of the United States I know that my “authority” to act on behalf of the U.S. is based upon my commission from the “people” through their Congress...and shall I say it...the POTUS. My commission doesn’t come from the SCOTUS. I cannot nor should not act until directed by constitutional authority. The military cannot remove a POTUS...even an illegal one...that requires the congress. Then the VPOTUS becomes CINC and orders flow from that person.
Of course, all of this discussion is purely hypothetical. Whatever, do you really want members of the military to make decisions on who is or is not POTUS? The moment that happens, then the military becomes king and not the people. Transition of authority must be orderly and constitutional and not based upon the military acting. At that point we no longer have a country, when the military deposes the CinC.
I am certain of one thing. Should the SCOTUS ever rule that POTUS Obama held office in violation of the constitution...the Congress would remove him and this whole issue is moot.
Besides, I need to make you folks aware that the military is not a monolith...it is made up of individuals with differing views. Should the SCOTUS rule against a POTUS and Congress was to (which I doubt) fail to act...then you will not see uniform agreement amoung members of the military as to what to do. I am talking about a total breakdown of the chain of command if some within that community decided to act. Some would try to stay neutral and wait for Congress to act(like myself) others would (possibly) violently want to remove the POTUS while others (more than you expect) would just as violently want to sustain the POTUS. This is not beyond the realm of possibility. Therefore, I will wait for the Congress to act in this hypothetical situation.
...do you really want members of the military to make decisions on who is or is not POTUS? The moment that happens, then the military becomes king and not the people. Transition of authority must be orderly and constitutional and not based upon the military acting. At that point we no longer have a country, when the military deposes the CinC.
Firstly, transition of POTUS authority only ever happens because the military either acts, or decides to do nothing. That's the de facto reality. Every President who has ever served in that capacity has only been able to do so because the military decides to obey him, and to not stage a coup. That's the de facto reality—which so far has always operated in support of what's true de jure (and a good thing, too.)
Yes, your authority to serve as an officer of the military comes from the US Congress. However, that commission simply allows and requires you to obey the POTUS as CIC. If a court of competent jurisdiction (i.g., the SCOTUS) issues a decision to the effect that Obama cannot Constitutionally be POTUS, then he is not, and never has been, POTUS. Which means he is not, and never has been, CIC.
So, not only would be there be no need for any action by Congress, it would be logically and legally impossible to remove someone from an office that he does not hold, and has never held. At that point, your duty as a commissioned officer would be to respect the chain of command, which means you obey the CIC, and ignore orders from anyone who is not in your chain of command—such as Obama, subsequent to such ruling by the SCOTUS.