U.S. Navy moves to expel court-martialed SEAL commando after Trump restored his rank

[webfact]

U.S. Navy moves to expel court-martialed SEAL commando after Trump restored his rank

By Steve Gorman

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher prepares to answer a question from the media with wife Andrea Gallagher after being acquitted on most of the serious charges against him during his court-martial trial at Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, California, U.S., July 2, 2019. REUTERS/John Gastaldo/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - The U.S. military formally notified a court-martialed Navy SEAL commando on Wednesday that he faces proceedings to expel him from the ranks of elite special forces after his demotion was reversed by President Donald Trump, his lawyer and a Navy spokeswoman said.

 

A trident review board hearing is set for Dec. 2 to weigh whether Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who was charged with committing war crimes during a 2017 deployment to Iraq, is fit to remain in the SEALs, Navy Captain Tamara Lawrence said.

 

She told Reuters that three of Gallagher's commanding officers face separate hearings to review whether they, too, should be removed from the SEALs.

 

Gallagher's civilian lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, confirmed his client was served with papers in San Diego, where he is based, informing him of the upcoming review, convened by Naval Special Warfare commander Rear Admiral Collin Green.

 

Parlatore said Green's move to strip Gallagher of his SEAL status marked a direct challenge to Trump's authority as commander-in-chief and an act of insubordination for which Parlatore said the admiral himself could be court-martialed.

 

Parlatore contested the move in a complaint filed on Tuesday with the U.S. Defense Department inspector general's office.

 

Gallagher's notice of a trident review board hearing cited the verdict rendered in his court-martial trial in July as evidence calling into question his suitability to continue serving in naval special warfare, the Navy said.

 

A military jury acquitted him of charges he fired at unarmed civilians and murdered a captured Islamic State fighter by stabbing the wounded prisoner in the neck. But he was found guilty of illegally posing with the detainee's corpse.

 

Although spared prison time, he was sentenced to a demotion in rank and pay, from chief petty officer to petty officer first-class, along with a two-month forfeiture of his salary.

 

Trump last Friday intervened in the case to restore his rank and pay, allowing Gallagher to retire later this year on a full pension. The president also granted pardons to two Army officers separately accused of war crimes in Afghanistan.

 

Critics said Trump's moves undermined military justice and sent a message that U.S. battlefield atrocities would be tolerated.

 

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Culver City, Calif.; Editing by Sandra Maler and Grant McCool)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-21

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[ballpoint]

Just now, webfact said:

Parlatore said Green's move to strip Gallagher of his SEAL status marked a direct challenge to Trump's authority as commander-in-chief and an act of insubordination for which Parlatore said the admiral himself could be court-martialed.

How about court martialing Trump for subverting the course of justice and conduct unbecoming of a commander in chief?

[Just1Voice]

"Battlefield atrocities"? They should have seen what went on in 'Nam. 

[Enoon]

1 hour ago, Just1Voice said:

"Battlefield atrocities"? They should have seen what went on in 'Nam. 

 

They did.

 

The whole world did.

 

That's why people like him get charged now.

 

I think it's called "cleaning up your act".

 

 

[Just1Voice]

9 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

They did.

 

The whole world did.

 

That's why people like him get charged now.

 

I think it's called "cleaning up your act".

 

 

No, they didn't.  They only saw a small fraction of what went on. 

[JimmyTheMook]

Wonderful how the enemy has no rules of engagement and we send our warriors out into battle now with a pair of handcuffs on - tied behind their backs.

 

#TRUMP 2020  

[Berkshire]

3 minutes ago, JimmyTheMook said:

Wonderful how the enemy has no rules of engagement and we send our warriors out into battle now with a pair of handcuffs on - tied behind their backs.

 

#TRUMP 2020  

Nevermind what the enemy is doing, but are you proposing that US military personnel can commit war crimes with impunity?  If so, we will need to redefine "American values." 

[JimmyTheMook]

3 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Nevermind what the enemy is doing, but are you proposing that US military personnel can commit war crimes with impunity?  If so, we will need to redefine "American values." 

 

 

[Roadman]

6 minutes ago, JimmyTheMook said:

 

 

I prefer western society to set a standard, not lower ourselves to every mad dogs levels. 

[metisdead]

A post using a trolling representation of Trump's name has been removed.  If you do not want your post to be removed, learn to spell people's names correctly. 

[BritManToo]

So is Trump 'commander in chief' or not?

Seems to me like Trump needs to sack a few people who disobeyed their oath to obey the C-in-C.

A clear cut case of insubordination, if not outright mutiny.

[JAG]

40 minutes ago, JimmyTheMook said:

Wonderful how the enemy has no rules of engagement and we send our warriors out into battle now with a pair of handcuffs on - tied behind their backs.

 

#TRUMP 2020  

Yes, it is a feature of "asymmetrical warfare". However inconvenient and unfair it may seem, it does not excuse the sort of actions which this man, and the other two were convicted of.

 

As "for what went on in Nam" that ended well didn't it?

[BobBKK]

Talk about disloyalty towards a Vet. Green is pathetic this man risked his life, was found innocent (apart from a photo). Leave him alone.

[BobBKK]

52 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Nevermind what the enemy is doing, but are you proposing that US military personnel can commit war crimes with impunity?  If so, we will need to redefine "American values." 

Most of us have no problem taking out scum like ISIS - however it is done.

 

[stevenl]

7 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Most of us have no problem taking out scum like ISIS - however it is done.

 

Who is 'us'?

[JAG]

40 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

Talk about disloyalty towards a Vet. Green is pathetic this man risked his life, was found innocent (apart from a photo). Leave him alone.

He is a Senior NCO. He was found guilty of posing with the corpse of an enemy combatant, who, it would appear, whilst wounded, was given a "coup de grace' by being stabbed in the neck. He was acquitted of administering the fatal stabbing, but was found guilty of subsequently posing with the corpse. That, in itself, is a

[alanrchase]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

So is Trump 'commander in chief' or not?

Seems to me like Trump needs to sack a few people who disobeyed their oath to obey the C-in-C.

A clear cut case of insubordination, if not outright mutiny.

Trump restored his rank, he didn't make him a member of the SEALS for life. If he gets kicked out of the SEALS but retains his rank where is the insubordination? 

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

Trump restored his rank, he didn't make him a member of the SEALS for life. If he gets kicked out of the SEALS but retains his rank where is the insubordination? 

He's due to retire, no need to chuck him out.

If they had not wanted to cause trouble they could have just advanced his retirement date a couple of months.

[alanrchase]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

He's due to retire, no need to chuck him out.

If they had not wanted to cause trouble they could have just advanced his retirement date a couple of months.

He will still be able to retire at the same rank. What's the problem?

[tgw]

this whole story has been spinned to death, the media are complicit and let themselves be used as a political tool.

just look at the picture chosen by Reuters to illustrate the article. it's not a neutral picture.

years ago, Reuters was neutral in its reporting. not anymore.

[stevenl]

18 minutes ago, tgw said:

this whole story has been spinned to death, the media are complicit and let themselves be used as a political tool.

just look at the picture chosen by Reuters to illustrate the article. it's not a neutral picture.

years ago, Reuters was neutral in its reporting. not anymore.

Disagree.

What is not neutral about the photo?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

As best as I understand this latest development...

 

...the Navy is considering whether to remove this guy from the SEALs service, not dismiss him from being in the Navy.

 

...the SEALs are an elite unit. No one in the Navy has any right to be or remain a SEALs member. AFAIK, they can be removed from SEALs service by their commanding officers as deemed appropriate.

 

It's nothing the president has any business meddling in.... especially a president like Trump who's a draft dodger extraordinaire!

 

[tgw]

15 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Disagree.

What is not neutral about the photo?

the man is shown with a self-satisfied and smug expression.

even if that depiction is accurate, it is not neutral.

 

it's not the first time Reuters' photos caught my attention. they also used unflattering photos of Trump and other people.

same on CNN.

it's part of the political game. of course the media can publish and use what they want, but they shouldn't claim "fair and neutral" reporting.

 

the article isn't totally neutral either. it's dragging "battlefield atrocities" in the debate, yet I don't think posing with a corpse counts as a "battlefield atrocity".

 

and it goes on saying the pardon is a sign that battlefield atrocities would be tolerated.

was the guy who stabbed the prisoner pardoned?

 

[metisdead]

A post using a trolling comment has been removed. 

[Dap]

5 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

"Battlefield atrocities"? They should have seen what went on in 'Nam. 

Or any other war for that matter.

[alanrchase]

5 minutes ago, tgw said:

the man is shown with a self-satisfied and smug expression.

even if that depiction is accurate, it is not neutral.

 

it's not the first time Reuters' photos caught my attention. they also used unflattering photos of Trump and other people.

same on CNN.

it's part of the political game. of course the media can publish and use what they want, but they shouldn't claim "fair and neutral" reporting.

The caption says he is preparing to give a statement. He looks like a man considering what to say in a statement. Where do you get the self satisfied and smug look from?

[stevenl]

10 minutes ago, tgw said:

the man is shown with a self-satisfied and smug expression.

even if that depiction is accurate, it is not neutral.

 

it's not the first time Reuters' photos caught my attention. they also used unflattering photos of Trump and other people.

same on CNN.

it's part of the political game. of course the media can publish and use what they want, but they shouldn't claim "fair and neutral" reporting.

I think your assessment of the photo is very much down to your bias of Reuters.

[tgw]

2 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

The caption says he is preparing to give a statement. He looks like a man considering what to say in a statement. Where do you get the self satisfied and smug look from?

well, we probably read different things into photos

[tgw]

1 minute ago, stevenl said:

I think your assessment of the photo is very much down to your bias of Reuters.

I had been using Reuters since I started in the finance industry, so I kind of grew up with Reuters and I know what I'm saying. I read through their news every day since the nineties and until I stopped my job. They were always neutral and fair in their reporting at the time.

 

Now I just looked them up, and lo and behold, they were acquired in 2008 by Thomson Corporation. That explains a lot.

[jany123]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

So is Trump 'commander in chief' or not?

Seems to me like Trump needs to sack a few people who disobeyed their oath to obey the C-in-C.

A clear cut case of insubordination, if not outright mutiny.

Yes yes... all those nazis were just following their C-in-C’s orders and should never have been put on trial after WW2... quite right.

 

meanwhile, I would think it very appropriate to conduct a review on  fitness to serve at the tip of the spear, given the doubts about his past service, wether the trump has excused him or not.

 

Let’s not forget, to be pardoned, you need to be found guilty first.