[emiliobumachar]

What's the punishment for ignoring the ban? Fear of that may dominate the reasoning of those who declined to join him.

[red-iron-pine]

Best case? Non-judicial punishment of some sort, e.g. "captain's mast" or the like. Forfeiture of pay, additional duty, minor imprisonment, changes to your rations, etc.

In a highly secured, remote base it's totally possible you get court-martialed, busted down in rank (aka losing out in monthly pay and bennies), or even catch a bad conduct discharge or something.

[packetslave]

Ignoring orders in the military is a good way to end up in prison.