SEALs Divided: Documentary Hunts for the We do our best but cant control the outcome. Eddie Gallagher says SEALs lied in 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. I've certainly never heard of anything like this happening. Gallagher was originally accused by fellow SEAL members, members of his own platoon, which, in and of itself, is sort of odd, given the historically tight-knit nature of the SEAL organization. These werent SEAL tactics. My word is my bond. These words are from the SEAL Ethos and are ingrained into every single SEAL trainee. Although they had the NCIS hotline number for days, legal files indicate that not one of the SEAL witnesses called it. [5] Gallagher allegedly boasted about the large number of people he had killed, claiming he averaged three kills a day over 80 days, including four women. The SO1 found it strange that (Gallagher) was present because (Gallagher) should have been closer to the fighting outside the compound with the forward element, NCIS wrote. Others were angry that he had been recommended for a post-tour combat valor award the Silver Star an honor they thought he didnt deserve. Chief Gallagher was awarded Sailor of the Year for Naval Special Warfare Group One. Advertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyMessaging Terms, AppAdvertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyCookie PolicyBest Sports Betting SiteMessaging TermsSubscription Terms. Retired SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher sues Navy One of the SEALs, a second class petty officer, told investigators that Gallagher failed to exercise the discipline to let tactical situations develop," according to one of the legal filings obtained by Navy Times. (screen shot of YouTube video used as evidence in criminal hearing), The lead petty officer told NCIS that he went and found the officer in charge of the platoon, Lt. Jacob X. [9] Khaled Jamal Abdullah, a captured 17-year-old fighter of the Islamic State, was being treated by a medic. [9], During his eighth deployment in 2017, Gallagher's aggressiveness seemed to be amplified during the Battle for Mosul. [1] Gallagher also was reportedly known for indiscriminately spraying neighborhoods with rockets and machine gun fire with no known enemy force in the region. [43], Gallagher and his lawyers made an appeal for clemency at the conclusion of the court martial; such requests are frequently made, although rarely successful. And a fellow sniper intends to tell the panel that Gallagher claimed, he averaged three kills a day over 80 days, according to legal filings obtained by Navy Times. In that second session, the SO1 sniper recalled being inserted into a position near Mosul around 3 a.m. the southern of two towers but didnt give an exact date. Later, another SO1 who was trained in battlefield medicine told NCIS that he remembered watching the other SEAL corpsman treating the detainee, who appeared to have suffered a leg injury and struggled to breathe, possibly from blast lung, a condition that often affects those who survive explosions. [29][21] During a podcast interview on May 28, 2019 Hunter said that he himself had posed for pictures with a dead enemy combatant and that American artillery fire had killed "hundreds" of Iraqi civilians in and around Fallujah. Theres the fog of war, of course, but several statements display fundamental disagreements about what occurred on the battlefield and was rehashed during meetings with each other and their superiors back in California. The decorated Navy SEAL had been accused stabbing the wounded teenage captive back in 2017. And then his attorneys seem pretty eager to appeal this decision. If Gallaghers defense team is right, hell walk out of Naval Base San Diego a free man. To attempt to out (their) status raises questions about the decision to do so.. The guy is freaking evil, Miller told the investigators. Former SEAL Eddie Gallagher attacks his accusers in He was attached to a U.S. Marine Corps unit until he enrolled in Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL (BUD/S) class 252 to become a Navy SEAL in 2005. Gallagher openly discussed topics including his career, the raid upon his home, pre-trial confinement, legal proceedings, acquittal, retirement, and his life and family. [52], Just before reaching his retirement date and towards the end of the Trident Board proceedings, Gallagher appeared on the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends. The LPO indicated the platoons snipers then began shooting warning shots so that the civilians would run away and (Gallagher) would not kill them," according to the report. Trump told a rally audience days after his intervention, "I stuck up for three great warriors against the deep state. Here, his mission was to serve in an advisory role, versus taking part in direct action. (Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images). ", "Trump Orders Navy to Strip Medals From Prosecutors in War Crimes Trial", "The Prosecutors who lost the case against SEAL Eddie Gallagher (who I released from solitary confinement so he could fight his case properly), were ridiculously given a Navy Achievement Medal. [12] According to two SEAL witnesses, Gallagher said "he's mine" over the radio, then walked up to Abdullah and allegedly proceeded to stab him with his hunting knife without explanation. Legal filings and messages exchanged between defense attorneys and prosecutors provided to Navy Times show other SEALs who broke contact with NCIS after the initial round of interviews. Military officials shorthand that as ICFM, according to an NCIS investigative action provided to Navy Times. Robert Breisch the commander of SEAL Team 7 during the 2017 deployment members of Gallaghers platoon were interviewed by investigators about the drone strike, but its unclear why the SEALs didnt tell them about Gallaghers alleged war crimes then. The breadth and diversity of partners supporting the Coalition demonstrate the global and unified nature of the endeavor to defeat ISIS. Directors Doug Shultz and Jeff Zimbalist secured the participation of Gallagher; his wife, Andrea; and the members of SEAL Team 7 who accused Gallagher of war crimes. We focused on trying to stop our chief from killing civilians, and getting us killed, while still affecting the battlespace and playing within the bounds of our own military and cultural rules. At one point, Gallagher told the AOIC that Alpha Platoon needed to find Islamic State fighters and get in one good TIC (Troops in Contact, the direct and violent engagement with an enemy), one where you need to focus on your field of fire or else you could take (a bullet) to the side of the head, according to the letter provided to Navy Times. On May 28, a panel of Gallaghers peers will start determining whats true about the allegations. [27] According to anonymous administration sources, the Justice Department was reviewing Gallagher's case in preparation for a possible pardon from President Trump. [8] He received positive evaluations from his superiors within the SEALs, and served as an instructor in the SEALs BUD/S program for recruits. Theres nothing in that video thats not already public, he told the newspaper. action against Gallagher after Eddie Gallagher During Alpha Platoons deployment, the SO1 had served as the lead petty officer, or LPO, and his initial statement to NCIS took the agent back to Badush a village in the suburbs of Mosul in early May of 2017, when the platoon was conducting an Advise, Assist and Accompany, or AAA, mission with Iraqi coalition forces members. Other Alpha Platoon members told investigators that Gallagher bragged about killing girls, but prosecutors conceded it wasnt clear whether those statements if they were made at all reference either or both of these incidents.. I mean, if you think about this, this is something that happened in Iraq in 2017. Gallagher went to trial last summer on charges that he murdered an Islamic State prisoner of war and committed other war crimes in May 2017 outside Mosul, Iraq. The only thing he was convicted of was posing in a photo with the dead captive's body. WebEddie Gallagher (Navy SEAL) Edward R. Gallagher (born May 29, 1979) [1] is a retired United States Navy SEAL who was accused of war crimes. Last summer, Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher was acquitted of shooting civilians and killing a captive ISIS fighter. His actions are everything ISIS says we are. He wants to help NCIS agents get Eddie, said Parlatore. Eddie Gallagher He also told NCIS that Gallagher had shot at but missed another young girl in a previous incident. Another sniper who also has indicated he might not testify later told prosecutors that he saw an old man go down, but he didnt see Gallagher shoot him, according to emails to prosecutors provided to Navy Times. At first, they say, the anti-Gallagher campaign by the alleged whistleblowers appeared to succeed. WebAnswer (1 of 13): I will admit out right that I havnt liked Eddie since he was my buddy Daves LPO. One other Marine raider who was there also said that he saw no stab wounds on the dead body. On June 17, 2017, the LPO rotated home on leave to witness the birth of his child but when he returned to Iraq he began hearing rumors about (Gallagher) killing civilians on the battlefield, according to the report. SEALs Divided: Documentary Hunts for the Eddie Gallagher [5], Gallagher was also charged with nearly a dozen lesser offenses. Gallagher repeatedly sent us to positions where SEALs and our Iraqi partner forces were wounded or killed by small arms and rockets. One dude I was good friends with was so paranoid that he hadn't taken a single picture with his son. Gallagher was hugging his wife. ", By Some SEALs wanted to derail Gallaghers advancement to senior chief. As for using them as bait, different SEALs appeared to have different ideas about what the concept meant. There is a digital trove of evidence a mile long where Eddie violated dozens of articles of the UCMJ. [57], A limited television series adaptation based on the life of Gallagher is in development by Working Title Television and The New York Times with Will Staples to write. The accusations came from SEALs in Gallagher's own platoon, who said he was also known for taking shots at civilians from his sniper's nest, killing at least two. The LPO told the investigator that there were other war crimes fellow SEALs witnessed, but he didnt see them. Thats because Gallagher who disliked using a spotter tried to keep away from Portier while they were in the sniper positions because (Gallagher) complained that Portier was too controlling and talked too much, according to the report. But, on this last charge, the least serious of the seven charges, the jury decided to give him the maximum sentence, which is this four months in jail, and they reduced him in rank from a chief petty officer to a petty officer 1st class. Recon. Gallagher's accusers painted him as a bloodthirsty warrior who was out of control in Iraq in 2017. People in intelligence communities are hesitant to take pictures at all because they fear that there might be a link back to their families one day. The accusations against Eddie were numerous, with the most prominent being the alleged murder of an Iraqi prisoner of war. Gallagher snapped, Thats tactics and were not here to talk about tactics, the SO1 said. Although only convicted of taking a photograph with a murdered teenage prisoner, his charge sheet accused him of shooting civilians on multiple occasions, possessing a controlled substance, torturing and killing a prisoner, and obstructing justice. Portier, he said, gathered all of the team members together and took a photograph of the team.". Later that night, the LPO gathered the platoons enlisted SEALs together and told them that morally they could not let these actions continue, so if Iraqi security forces brought more prisoners to them they should send them away so Gallagher could not injure anyone else, according to the NCIS report. No one wins in this story. Two other SEALs who also deployed with Gallagher but did not testify in his trial told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday speaking out against the retired Chiefs identifying currently serving SEAL Team members. Chief Eddie Gallagher (right, in cap) takes control of a prisoner (far left), an ISIS fighter who had been wounded. Was always a jerk. Lastly, we know that Gallagher's convicted of this one charge of posing with the photograph. As more witnesses began reciting their allegations against the chief, prosecutors contend that Gallagher circulated their identities to others in the SEAL community and encouraged them to disclose the names and blacklist them.. The LPO told NCIS that he informed both Portier and his assistant officer in charge of the platoon about the alleged murder. Army and Marine grunts braved small arms fire and improvised explosive devices to draw out insurgents and overwhelm them with superior firepower, which explained their high rate of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. A telling text seems to suggest that one of the SEAL witnesses at one point tried to get others in the platoon together to make sure their stories jibed with what theyd tell investigators, according to evidence files provided to Navy Times. To the lieutenant, Gallagher was "putting their platoon in an extremely vulnerable position for a mission that was not even authorized, an argument that ended both his conversation with the chief and the proposed raid, according to the letter provided to Navy Times. now-disgraced Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, only convicted of taking a photograph with a murdered teenage prisoner. It will mark a sea change in the sea services clandestine and close-knit cadre of SEALs, a secretive and elite military force that rarely testifies against each other, especially in war crimes probes attracting an international audience. Thank you. The problem is, once they get what they wanted, the process doesnt stop. Analysis of a knife confiscated from Gallagher will only say that it suggests traces of the cells of an Iraqi man, but it cant be linked to any known victim, prosecutors concede. This is the reason that other countries call us to solve their problems. Gallagher then text messaged a friend in California a picture of himself holding the dead captive's (ISIS) head by the hair with the explanation "Good story behind this, got him with my hunting knife.[9][13], Prosecutors alleged that Gallagher's sniper work during his 2017 deployment became "reckless" and "bloodthirsty". But to Gallaghers attorney Parlatore, thats where NCIS and the prosecutors started getting it wrong. Several of them said that they saw him stab this alleged captive ISIS prisoner. Retired SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher sues Navy They wanted him fired from a schoolhouse billet that taught junior SEALs battlefield operations. As usual, Fox News figures prominently. He was the subject of an investigation into the shooting of a young girl in Afghanistan in 2010, but was cleared of wrongdoing after being investigated by close comrades who had deployed with him. The first NCIS interrogation kicked off on April 16, 2018, with a first class special warfare operator an SO1. By Julie Watson, Brian Melley, Associated Press. The most serious allegation against Gallagher, 39, is a premeditated murder charge in connection with the stabbing death of an unarmed and seriously wounded Islamic State fighter near the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2017. Now, theyre stuck," said Parlatore, who suspects some accusers lied to investigators. Another SEAL told investigators that he saw Gallagher shoot the elderly man in the back and watched him drop to the ground and saw blood on his back, but its unclear if hell testify. [5], The case was considered to be a "difficult"[15] one because the Navy did not begin a formal investigation for nearly a year after the reports were made and by then much of the physical evidence, such as the bodies of those alleged to be killed by Gallagher, were not recoverable. Gallagher's accusers painted him as a bloodthirsty warrior who was out of control in Iraq in 2017. For us, this was an easy fight to get behind. This is a false narrative peddled by Gallagher and his supporters. But, in the meantime, he had already served eight months in the brig. Apparently, he sent a photograph of the captive's body. Truth be known, I fucking hate talking about this kinda shit in the military community. It escalates and Warpinski is now on the case.". And then, all of a sudden, they hit a nerve, said Timothy Parlatore, Gallaghers lead civilian counsel. But the one thing that they did have were these photographs that Gallagher sent out to people in the United States and other members of the platoon with him posing with a knife up to the dead detainee. ", A picture taken on March 14, 2017, in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul shows a drone carrying two grenades flying in a test flight by Iraqi forces which aim to use it against Islamic State (IS) group fighters. That had a significant impact on the battlefield. But officials insisted he received threats because he helped investigators and asked that his identity be protected for now, too. Giorgio Kirylo testifying that he saw Gallagher try to save the prisoner, and observed no stab wounds on the dead man. Two of the other girls ran away and over a berm out of sight. We arent lawyers. Gallagher was accused of several war crimes by some of his platoon subordinates, including that he shot civilians and stabbed a wounded ISIS fighter in the neck, killing him, while in Iraq in 2017. It appears largely stitched together from interviews with 11 Alpha Platoon members seven first class petty officers, two second class petty officers and a lieutenant a group that comprises about half of the force on the deployment, including their attachments from other Navy units, the Air Force and Marine Corps. Was your sense that this verdict was a surprise? Reddit [31] Scott called it a "mercy killing" and argued that the victim would have been tortured by Iraqi personnel due to his connection to the Islamic State. All appear on camera.
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