Americans sometimes forget a remarkable thing about our country: No one, not even the military, is above the law.

In 2009, I delivered the keynote address at a conference sponsored by the UN Environment Program, a meeting in Okinawa, Japan, that brought together communities from around the world grappling with environmental and cultural harm from military activities.

I spoke about Earthjustice’s work to end live-fire training at Makua Military Reservation on Oahu. It was a lengthy legal struggle, but, in the end, the court found the Army had acted illegally and ordered it to stop training until it could comply with the federal law that requires all agencies, including the military, to conduct comprehensive environmental review of activities that harm the human environment. The military complied with this order, and hasn’t fired a shot at Makua since 2004.

Many of the conference attendees told me they were astonished by this story: Citizens were able to use the power of the law to hold their military accountable. Men with guns listened to judges in black robes.

We are fortunate as Americans that the men and women who serve to protect our way of life understand that the law, not the military, is the final word. The freedoms they fight for include the freedom of citizens to work to protect the environment — even from the military.

The military is a huge presence in Hawaii. Unfortunately, military training is, by its very nature, destructive and poses huge threats to our islands’ precious and unique biological and cultural heritage. To protect this heritage, vigilant oversight by citizens is vital.

Makua Military Reservation has more than 100 cultural sites eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, including heiau (temples), ahu (shrines), burial sites and petroglyphs. Past military training desecrated these sacred sites, dropping bombs, mortars and artillery shells, and pockmarking sacred sites with bullets. It placed these sacred lands off-limits to cultural practitioners, severing connections that are vital to perpetuating Hawaiian culture.

Makua is also home to a treasure trove of native animals and plants, with more than 40 endangered and threatened species at risk from military activities. The risk is more than theoretical; countless training-related fires have scorched irreplaceable native forest habitat on the cliffs ringing Makua, killing critically imperiled species.

The military focuses, laser-like, on what it thinks it needs to do to maintain the nation’s security. I appreciate that, as we all should. But this laser-like focus can result in a dangerous myopia. It took more than a decade of Earthjustice lawsuits before the Army finally acknowledged that live-fire training at Makua is not necessary, and that less environmentally harmful training alternatives are available.

The need for a vigilant citizenry, armed with the law, extends beyond our islands’ shores. In 2013, Earthjustice sued the Navy, challenging plans to use sonar and explosives that the Navy itself estimated could kill 155 whales, dolphins and other marine mammals, and permanently injure thousands more. It took a court ruling the Navy’s plan was illegal before the Navy admitted it could bring down the death toll by restricting training in particularly sensitive marine mammal habitats.

There are places in the world where the military isn’t bound by civilian courts, places where citizens have no oversight over decisions that profoundly affect them. But the U.S. military respects the rule of law. Men with guns do listen to judges in black robes.

I appreciate the important job the men and woman of the military perform. I also appreciate their acknowledgment that the laws passed in our democratic system apply to us all, even the military.