An uproar is beginning in America after a US Air Force major was locked in pre-trial confinement and hit with 10 military charges.The senior official has rattled a very big cage atop the chain of command by calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment.Major Jason Watson was formally charged on Monday with three alleged violations of a specific military law that prohibits commissioned officers from using “contemptuous” language about senior leaders.The vocal activist also faces five counts of failing to obey orders or regulations, and two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer.In civilian America, calling the president a failure is a fairly standard cable-news affair. From the likes of the independent Tucker Carlsons to CNN and NBC, Mr Trump is regularly being accused violating the Constitution, engaging in corruption and causing the deaths of Americans. But if you’re wearing uniform, the playing field is a little bit different. Those same comments made by pundits on a major network can land you in a criminal case.“What is happening with President Trump is not normal. He has failed us,” Major Watson told CNN days before he was taken into custody for a second time.Major Watson remains in a Maryland county detention facility under military hold. His lawyer, Christopher Mutimer, says he is being kept largely isolated for his own safety.The 40-year-old has not been convicted of any offence, and the service has stressed that he remains presumed innocent.But Major Watson is already facing the possible destruction of a military career built over 17 years of active service.“If I don’t put myself out there in a big way, then it’s just noise,” Major Watson said in an interview on CNN, explaining how he’d weighed up the consequences before ultimately biting the bullet.“What is the highest price that I am willing to pay? And this is what I ultimately came up with.“You do not have to be somebody special to take action and reject this government.”‘The greatest threat’The case began to publicly unfold on July 1, when Major Watson appeared at a Capitol Hill press conference organised by the Removal Coalition, an activist group seeking the removal of Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance.Major Watson was on leave from his position as an Air Force staff officer assigned to Bydgoszcz, Poland.Wearing his uniform, he delivered a prepared speech accusing the administration of repeatedly violating the Constitution.Major Watson said Mr Trump had usurped Congress’ authority by ordering military action against Venezuela, Cuba and Iran without an imminent threat to American interests.He also attacked the administration’s immigration enforcement, tariffs and use of executive power.“The greatest threat to our democratic republic is not a foreign one. It is us,” he said.Despite the optics, Major Watson insists he is not acting as an attack dog for the Democrats.He then doubled-down on his message, walking on to the steps of the House of Representatives carrying a sign reading: “Impeach Convict Remove”.Capitol Police repeatedly ordered Major Watson to stop. He refused, placed his sign on the ground and calmly allowed officers to arrest him in three minutes.Washington authorities later dropped the civilian charge, but the Air Force did not.He was then was transferred into military custody, restricted to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and placed under orders limiting his public comments.He returned to television on August 17 and renewed his attack on Mr Trump, telling CNN he understood the consequences but believed speaking publicly was worth the price.The following day, Major Watson informed his chain of command that he would no longer wear his military uniform. According to his lawyer, he was ordered to put it on and was arrested about 20 minutes later.The Air Force said he was placed in pre-trial confinement because there was probable cause supporting allegations of continued misconduct.The charge sheet reportedly alleges Major Watson violated regulations governing partisan political activity, improperly wore his uniform at the Capitol event, breached leave rules by travelling to Washington and refused to wear his uniform while on duty.That matters because this is not simply a free-speech fight. Even if Major Watson convinces a military court that some of his criticism was political argument rather than criminal contempt, prosecutors still have his alleged disobedience and use of the uniform to pursue.The uniform gave his protest its power. It may also prove to be his greatest legal problem.A rare caseArticle 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice applies only to commissioned officers and makes it an offence to use contemptuous words against the president, vice president, Congress, senior defence officials and certain state authorities. There is no civilian equivalent. Americans are generally free to call their president almost anything they like, and frequently demonstrate impressive creativity in doing so through various channels.But military courts have long accepted that service members operate under tighter speech restrictions purely because the armed forces must remain politically neutral and disciplined.That being said, Major Watson’s prosecution is still highly unusual.A CNN examination found only two court-martial convictions under Article 88 since the modern military justice code was established in 1951.The first major case involved Army Second Lieutenant Henry Howe, who attended an anti-Vietnam War protest in El Paso, Texas, in 1965.Second Lt Howe was off duty and out of uniform but carried a sign accusing president Lyndon Johns of “fascist aggression” in Vietnam.He was convicted of contempt towards the president and conduct unbecoming an officer. He initially received two years of hard labour, dismissal from the Army and forfeiture of his pay, although the confinement was later reduced to one year and he was released early.Then in 1993, Air Force Major General Harold Campbell was reprimanded, fined almost $7000 ($A9800) and forced into retirement after publicly describing president Bill Clinton in a string of disparaging terms at a military banquet in the Netherlands.Major General Campbell was dealt with through non-judicial disciplinary proceedings rather than a court-martial conviction.Barack Obama also removed General Stanley McChrystal as commander of US forces in Afghanistan in 2010 after a Rolling Stone article reported disparaging remarks about senior administration figures by General McChrystal and members of his team.Then came the case of Marine Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller.He publicly attacked senior military and civilian leaders over the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan under Joe Biden in 2021. He pleaded guilty to six military offences, including contempt towards officials, disobeying orders and conduct unbecoming an officer.He received a formal reprimand and forfeited $5000 ($A7000) in pay before leaving the Marine Corps.In a characteristically bizarre Washington twist, he is now a senior adviser in the Trump administration’s Pentagon.Major Watson’s case could now become another major test of the uncertain boundary between dissent and military discipline and how the definitions are interpreted by the nation’s most powerful.Read related topics:Donald Trump