“When my son was in they talked about this as a ‘what if’. Many said they wouldnt but still a good number said theyd follow whatever orders were given.”
Rather than speculating, we have real world examples to study.
When Qaddhafi gave the order to his army to fire in Libyans, 75% of the military deserted and returned to their provinces to protect their families, cleaning out armories as they traveled home.
What remained were Libyan cadets (boots) and Qaddhafi’s elite guard and senior officer corps.
To make a long story short, the inexperienced cadets, led by senior officers, didn’t fight well. The army deserters connected up with the provincial militias (equivalent to our state guards) and slaughtered Qaddhafi’s diminished army by the thousands.
So you’re equating their military to ours in an attempt to predict an outcome?