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Brownie points for self-reporting is just not enough. The proposed punishment is far too severe for this violation, in which the harm done to the prisoner is purely a technical violation. There needs to be some judgement here, which is a quality that too many judges lack. Zero tolerance is a synonym for zero intelligence, which is what the rule of law becomes without judging the totality of circumstances. If the law prescribes this punishment, the law needs to be changed, and the court needs to recognize the exceptional circumstances of this - or a similar - incident.

Imagine we had captured a similarly informed collaborator with information about the recent RPG attack on the helicopter. What initiative, what actions, would we want the local commander to have taken? And as the dozens of dead and wounded victims are collected, and the letters are written to their families, what should that commander say about sending his men into harm's way blind, all the while knowing that the information to save them was at hand?

if we should manage to deter such mildly agressive questioning for the future, who will bear the burden of the wounds - and lives - of the victims?

I'm not sure what you mean by "technical violation"?

If the officer accidentally walked into the room with his sidearm still on, I could understand.

If the officer took an approved action during questioning, but it unintentionally ventured into the prohibited areas, I could understand that.

But knowingly taking a prohibited course of action is NOT a "technical violation." I honestly hope it turns out to NOT be a violation of any kind. But wishing it away to the cornfield isn't gonna cut it. Nobody here is authorized to "forgive and forget" acts which might be criminal, even if everybody's blood is up.