Obviously it's necessary to prohibit military servicepeople from speaking to the media or anyone else about anything even remotely related to military operations, or communications/transport/weapons systems. However, the only possible outcome from gagging them on other matters, such as the conditions under which they're receiving medical care here in the US while not serving in any active capacity, is to protect wrongdoers who outrank them.
I don't think the American taxpayers as a whole approve of this sort of restriction. Not only does it leave wounded soldiers with no recourse if their superiors choose to ignore their very valid complaints, but it leaves the rest of the taxpayers deceived about how their tax dollars are being spent. All the reports I've seen say this situation has been ongoing for a very long time, and I have to think that plenty of soldiers had tried registering complaints through the right channels before going to the media. Apparently squealing to the media has gotten corrective action underway, where going through official channels failed.
You're correct. This is a clear abuse of power in this case.
That's why the military has the Inspector General system and allows military members to complain directly to their Congressional representatives. From what I understand about his attitude, I think the Army took the right action by relieving him of his Command. I can't understand why it took over two years to fix this, though.
The military/VA medical system has been a disaster since long before this war. No one gave a crap then. The only reason that anyone printed that report is because it was convenient to their cause, which is making our military look bad. Officers get relieved of command all the time over much smaller things than this. It's just what they do to make it publicly look like things will change. This should have happened long ago. I'm glad it's happening now, but I won't hold my breath until I see real changes. Right now, it's just symbolic.
Your original question was whether they got their rights back. I was just pointing out that there was nothing to "get back". The rules about speaking to the press have always been there.