Tell or sell?

What a mess this Iranian "hostage" thing has turned into. It seems to be generally accepted that the idea of those involved being able to sell their stories to the media is at best in bad taste, and at worst totally unacceptable. But why? There seem to be two main arguments - the first is that as service personnel they should not be allowed to give interviews about anything which has happened to them as such, and the second is that, even if that rule is relaxed, they should not accept payment for doing so. Had they been civilians, I cannot imagine there would have been so much fuss, so it does seem to be more related to their military status. Whatever, the MoD has really handled the whole thing ineptly, and put the people involved in a very awkward position, and the Defence Secretary's late intervention has just added to the chaotic nature of the situation. Somebody needs to get their act together.