In addition to its literal meaning, it is also a figurative expression, as TFA explains, and you can check for yourself in a dictionary. Those words were used

In addition to its literal meaning, it is also a figurative expression, as TFA explains, and you can check for yourself in a dictionary. Those words were used in a tweet, not an order to military personnel. For better or worse, that kind of extreme language was common on Twitter. And those words did not appear in the op-ed published by the NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protes...