A Chaplain's Test of Faith

"As unhappy -- and even disgusted -- as I was about many of the things I witnessed, I never let my emotions show," he writes.

Called on by the base's public affairs office to guide visiting reporters around the prison, he did so without a whisper of his concerns. One visiting news crew asked him if he felt a conflict between his Islamic beliefs and his military mission. "Professionals never allow personal things to affect the way they perform a job," he told them.

As he lay in bed at night, though, he began to question his role there. He had come to Guantanamo confident he would be able to ensure the detainees could practice their religion, regardless of how miserable their living conditions were, he writes. But now he began to wonder if he were solely a "political appointment, a piece of theater meant to display the understanding and sensitivity we purported to have toward Islam."

The hostility extended to U.S. Muslim personnel. Several translators there came under investigation. One translator told Yee he was being investigated as well.

He confronted the camp's security officer, who told him, "Now chaplain, why would anybody want to arrest you, chaplain?"

The anti-Islamic sentiment emanated from the top down, Yee began to believe, recalling one of his first conversations with the Guantanamo commander, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller. The general told him he had lost several friends on 9/11 and had a deep hatred for "those Muslims" who had carried out the attacks. His emotions were so deep, the general said, that he had sought counseling from a chaplain. Miller did not respond to requests for comment last week.

Despite his concerns, Yee continued his duties, including escorting the media. He knew he was chosen because he could stay "on-message." His commanders rewarded him with glowing performance evaluations.

But on Sept. 10, 2003, just two days after receiving his evaluations, he suddenly found himself accosted by federal agents. He was on his way home to Washington state for leave when he was arrested in Jacksonville, Fla.

He soon learned Miller intended to charge him with espionage, sedition and a host of other charges. Prosecutors, he was told, intended to seek the death penalty.

He was driven to the Consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C. Guards placed earmuffs and opaque goggles on him for the last hour of the drive -- the same sensory deprivation techniques used on prisoners being transported from Afghanistan to Guantanamo.

Yee realized that's what he was now: a detainee.

Solitary Confinement

Over the next 76 days, he lived under the cloud of treason as he sat in solitary confinement. As part of his military duties back at Fort Lewis, he had developed a spiritual fitness program to help soldiers deal with stress. He emphasized keeping control over one's emotions.