I would guess he is about bankrupt and he has been offered a deal he can’t refuse. No jail time and he gets to retire and keep his pension. Also there might have been some rumbling about the IRS dragging him into tax court or doing the same to his wife. Definitely a combination of a small carrot and a big stick as a motivator.
So he probably cannot appear at the Birther Summit or peddle a book until he is formally out of the military.
You don't get a new sentence just because you appealed your conviction, then dropped the appeal.
You may get re-sentenced, where the judge reimposes the old sentence, which was abated during the appeal, but you don't get to go back and and have your sentence reduced, just because.
Sad.
But utterly foreseeable.
I posted this on 15 April 2010:
LTC (Lakin)has defied a direct order, to create a forum in which he can seek to force the US Army to sit in judgment of a decision reached by the civilian authorities, and he did so to advance a political agenda. This may "go away" if he recants. Fast. Otherwise, he, and his pension, are toast.
Birthers can keep saying "it hasn't happened yet." Just like the guy who jumps out of a window on the 100th floor can say "so far, so good," all the way down to the ground.
The time for LTC Lakin to get a deal passed a very long time ago. Now there is just time to serve, and old age without a pension.