Trump vs. Navy: Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher Maintains his Status as SEAL. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer “Fired”
UPDATE:
“The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin. This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!”
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has asked Navy Secretary Richard Spencer to resign, citing his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq. Esper asked for the resignation Sunday and Spencer submitted it, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said, With VOA reporting.
Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher was one of the service members who received pardons from President Trump earlier this week as we reported. In the Pardon Trump ordered Gallagher back to his previous rank as Chief.
President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency (Full Pardon) for Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, an Executive Grant of Clemency (Full Pardon) for Army Major Mathew Golsteyn, and an order directing the promotion of Special Warfare Operator First Class Edward R. Gallagher to the grade of E-7, the rank he held before he was tried and found not guilty of nearly all of the charges against him.
The Navy Admiral Colin Green stated that Gallagher should not have his status as Navy SEAL restored, creating a frenzy within the military and executive branches and supporters on both sides.
In Turn, Gallagher has filed an inspector general’s complaint against the Navy’s top commander accusing him of self serving actions in uttering contemptuous statements about the commander in chief, as Navy Times reported.
Attorney Timothy Parlatore filed an inspector general’s complaint accusing Naval Special Warfare commander, Rear Adm. Collin Green, of insubordination for defying Trump. “What I’m hearing is that the rear admiral said very disparaging comments about the president and stated his disagreement with the president’s actions and said therefore I want to move forward in removing his Trident,” Parlatore said, with AP reporting.
Adm Greer has support from the top Brass: “Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, supports his commanders in executing their roles, to include Rear Adm. Green,” said Gilday’s spokesman, Cmdr. Nate Christensen, in an email to Navy Times.
Admiral Green has scheduled a Trident review Board for 2 December, at Naval Special Warfare Command headquarters to “displayed a gross lack of professional or personal judgment, lack of moral or ethical behavior, and/or conduct inconsistent with the SEAL ethos.” as a SEAL, according to NPR, Navy Times and other reporters. . The determination will either end Gallagher’s career or have it restored.
“displayed a gross lack of professional or personal judgment, lack of moral or ethical behavior, and/or conduct inconsistent with the SEAL ethos.”
“If there’s further action against Eddie, it’s clearly a sign of insubordination because it’s going against the president’s intent, which is, ‘You guys get your hands off Eddie,’ ” Ed Hiner, a colleague of Gallagher’s as a former Navy SEAL, told NPR.
Others, including veterans were supportive of the Navy’s decision to proceed with the hearings. To exonerate Gallagher “puts us on a par with the enemy. And we can’t allow that,” retired Lt. Col. Gary Solis spoke for opponents of the Trump decision, as NPR’s Quil Lawrence reported. “In the future, those who witness war crimes are going to be less apt to report them because they’ve seen what happens.”
Below the background of Gallagher’s case are some further heated responses and reports on the ongoing feud between the White House, Adm Green and Edward Gallagher.