This retaliation from the DOD for political reasons is par for the course. It's precisely what happened behind the scenes on another high-profile case back in the 1950's -- the case that eventually led to the fall of Joseph McCarthy -- the Case of AF Lt. Milo Radulovich
Although Milo won his case and finally received his Honorable Discharge, his work was in meteorology and that field was all government contractor work back then, so the DOD made sure that he couldn't get a job in working for a government contractor. Milo said that he'd tell potential employers upfront about the original case and they'd say OK, but when it came time to hire him, they'd back off. Once he said that he saw what was written on one of his applications -- "Not Eligible for Government Work" -- even though Milo had had high level security clearances and not one, not even the AF, had ever questioned his loyalty to his country. Milo eventually found a private weather service run by a Frenchman who said that he understood the phony charge of "guilt by association" based on his personal experiences during WWII, and hired Milo.
Ten years later the US Weather Service finally hired Milo when the original Top Brass had been replaced, and ironically, Milo Radulovich became Ronald Reagan's favorite weatherman. When Reagan was governor of California, RR would literally call Milo personally to get the weather, knowing full well who Milo was and what Milo had gone through.
A few years back, the film "Goodnight & Good Luck" featured film of Milo's original Murrow interview.
Point of this is, Lt. Cook and anyone who challenges this birth certificate issue can be persecuted long after the cameras have gone away and even if they win in court. The American people have a short attention span and can be pretty fickle. Lt. Cook and these others are really risking their futures for this, even if they win.
Major Cook Update:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2294045/posts?page=22#22
In this issue, there should be a case filed by Major Cook for violation of the Federal Whistleblower’s Act.
BTW, Major Cook is not a Lt.