{"id":40443,"date":"2019-10-29T19:23:59","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T19:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/29\/cno-wont-let-convicted-seal-retire-as-chief\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:53:13","slug":"cno-wont-let-convicted-seal-retire-as-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/10\/29\/cno-wont-let-convicted-seal-retire-as-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"CNO won\u2019t let convicted SEAL retire as chief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The long saga of accused SEAL war criminal Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward \u201cEddie\u201d Gallagher might\u2019ve come to an end on Tuesday, with a ruling that will let him retire as a petty officer first class, convicted only of posing for a photo with a dead detainee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a prepared statement emailed to Navy Times by his spokesman Cmdr. Nate Christensen, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday retained the spirit of a military jury\u2019s recommended sentence, if not the letter of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter careful consideration as the convening authority, Adm. Gilday decided to uphold the sentence as adjudged by a jury of Gallagher\u2019s peers, but disapproved the automatic reduction in rate to E-1,\u201d wrote Chistensen. “Consequently, Gallagher will remain a First Class Petty Officer (E-6).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 2, a military panel of his peers at Gallagher\u2019s San Diego court-martial trial cleared him<\/a> on premeditated murder, obstruction of justice and all other major charges tied to a 2017 deployment with Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7, to Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marred by allegations of misconduct by military prosecutors and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, the case against Gallagher had collapsed at trial and he was convicted of only one remaining charge, posing with the body of a dead Islamic State prisoner of war, an allegation he never denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others in Gallagher\u2019s platoon not only stood with him next to the corpse but broke off for individual snapshots with the body \u2014 and none faced charges except the chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Members of Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7, pose in front of the body of a dead Islamic State prisoner of war in Iraq in 2017. Only Gallagher was convicted for appearing in the image. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Had he not been sent to a general court-martial trial for the other charges, Gallagher likely would\u2019ve faced administrative punishment, such as a written reprimand, not the removal of a pay grade by a military jury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 3, the panel of his peers returned to recommend that Gallagher be reduced to the pay grade of E-6, forfeit $2,697.00 for four months and be confined for four months \u2014 although he\u2019d already served twice that long behind bars during pretrial confinement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navy judge Capt. Aaron Rugh reduced Gallagher\u2019s forfeiture to two months. Finding that authorities had violated Gallagher\u2019s constitutional rights before the trial, he\u2019d already sanctioned the prosecution team before the trial even kicked off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of Rugh\u2019s punishment included booting Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak, the lead prosecutor, for his role in a warrantless surveillance program<\/a> cooked up with NCIS to track emails sent by defense attorneys and Navy Times.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecutors and agents also were accused of manipulating witness statements; using immunity grants and a bogus \u201ctarget letter\u201d in a crude attempt to keep pro-Gallagher witnesses from testifying; illegally leaking documents to the media to taint the military jury pool; and then trying to cover it all up when they got caught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A public firestorm erupted over the Navy\u2019s treatment of Gallagher, sparking a March 30 order by President Donald J. Trump to free him from pretrial confinement<\/a> in San Diego\u2019s Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gilday caught the case because his predecessor, Adm. John Richardson, on Aug. 3<\/a> removed all court-martial authority from Navy Region Southwest for Gallagher, making the CNO the convening flag officer for post-sentencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richardson also directed authorities in San Diego to dismiss all charges against Lt. Jacob X. \u201cJake\u201d Portier, <\/a>the officer in charge of Gallagher\u2019s platoon in for allegedly helping his chief cover up the war crimes, charges the commissioned officer also denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ongoing review<\/a> by VCNO Adm. Robert Burke into the way the sea service recruits, trains and retains a competent and ethical corps of uniformed attorneys is due to arrive on Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer\u2019s desk by Nov. 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\t