Ukase: n. any official degree or proclamation
It all started when Corporal Dithers' brother came through the camp on his way from escaping a different camp. Corporal Dithers considered going with him, but stayed with the leather-shop instead. The brother left him a personal gift, saying he could get another.
Over the next few weeks, everyone tried to think of a nice way to tell Dithers to put the thing away, but they all knew how special it was. Thankfully their misery ended sooner than they expected, and Hogan decided to make sure it stayed that way.
"And no, we cannot waste resources on new ukulele strings."