Accused chaplain quits Army

SEATTLE – A Muslim chaplain imprisoned for 76 days as part of an espionage probe by the government has received an honorable discharge from the Army.

Although Army Capt. James Yee has been cleared in the investigation, he resigned in August, saying officials never apologized to him. His discharge was effective at midnight Friday, said his civilian defense attorney, Eugene Fidell.

“As a West Point graduate, he leaves the Army with great sadness,” Fidell said in an e-mail. “The fact that he was imprisoned for a prolonged period for no valid reason remains indefensible.”

After he was exonerated, Yee returned in April to Fort Lewis and resumed his duties as a chaplain.

An official announcement of Yee’s discharge was not expected.

“As a matter of practice, the Army doesn’t publicly announce administrative actions such as officer resignations or soldiers leaving the Army,” said Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon.

Fidell said Yee and his family were grateful for the support they’ve received, and that Yee looks forward “in due course to expressing his views about his experience.”

Yee, who is now at home with his wife and daughter in Olympia, was not granting interviews, Fidell said.

Fidell has previously said that Yee plans to finish his master’s degree in international relations at Troy State University, which has a campus near Fort Lewis.

The military charged Yee in 2003 with mishandling classified material, failing to obey an order, making a false official statement, adultery and conduct unbecoming an officer.

All criminal charges were dismissed in March, but Army officials found Yee guilty of the noncriminal Army charges of adultery and downloading pornography. The reprimand he received was thrown out by an Army general a month later.

Yee submitted his letter of resignation to the Army in August, saying officials never apologized to him or allowed him to retrieve his belongings from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.