Army general cleared Capt. James Yee's military record of a formal reprimand that alleged for adultery and storing pornography on his government-issued computer. The decision Wednesday by Gen. James T. Hill, commander of U.S. Southern Command, ends the military's case against the Muslim chaplain, whom government officials initially had linked to a possible espionage ring operating at the naval prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. While Yee's conduct was wrong, the public stigma he'd face if the appeal of the reprimand were denied "would not serve a just and fair purpose," said Hill, a former Fort Lewis commander. "I believe in justice and I believe in fairness, and given all that has transpired, in all fairness I believe I have given Chaplain Yee justice," Hill said.
Yee, 36, a Chinese-American and West Point graduate, returned to his permanent duty station at Fort Lewis last week. He, his wife, Huda, and their 4-year-old daughter live in Olympia. Yee did not return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday. No one answered the door at their Olympia apartment. One of Yee's civilian attorneys, Eugene Fidell, reiterated that Yee deserves a formal apology from the military for its treatment of Yee, which included placing him in pretrial confinement for 76 days. Fidell said he hopes a higher authority will agree that an apology is overdue. "If the buck has to stop there, then let it stop there," he said. A spokesman for Southern Command has said an apology won't be forthcoming because Yee placed sensitive information at risk, the spokesman said.
| And I bet his career advancement is at an end. |
| I'm wondering what he traded for this... |
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