Capt. James Yee's muzzle

Washington Post: The Army has a message for Capt. James Joseph Yee: Keep your mouth shut. Yee, you'll recall, was the army's Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until he was arrested last year on suspicion of spying. Yee was held for more than two months while the military dragged his name through the mud, but he was never charged with more than mishandling of classified materials, and the Army finally dropped all charges against him -- save administrative sanctions for adultery and downloading pornography from the Internet. On Wednesday, Yee won his bid to have the reprimand that had been issued to him removed from his record. Yet the Army has also gone out of its way to continue smearing him, writing letters to newspapers -- including this one -- that implied that Yee was, in fact, dangerous, and argued that it was "Yee, not the Army, who sullied his reputation as a Chaplain and a military officer." And behind the scenes, it turns out, the Army has done its best to make sure that Yee doesn't respond.
Gag order
Earlier this month, when Yee returned to his permanent base at Fort Lewis, Wash., he was handed a memo titled "Duties, Responsibilities, and Standards of Conduct." This document helpfully reminded him that "Like any soldier, you are permitted to exercise your First Amendment rights to free speech." But it then went on to explain: "Speech that undermines the effectiveness of loyalty, discipline, or unit morale is not constitutionally protected. Such speech includes, but is not limited to, disrespectful acts or language, however, expressed, toward military authorities or other officials. Adverse criticism of (the Defense Department) or Army policy that is disloyal or disruptive to good order and discipline is similarly limited." For good measure, the memo concludes that "compliance" with its terms "is an order."
It is true that active-duty military officers accept limits on their free-speech rights. ... But the order to Yee appears broader than the restrictions actually in the Uniform Code of Military Conduct, and the Army did not respond to our inquiries as to its legal basis. How exactly could Yee talk in public about what must have been a nightmarish few months without risking undermining the loyalty of his listeners? ... The military ought, at this stage, to be apologizing to Yee instead of muzzling him with one hand while continuing to tar him with the other.