Attacking his former colleagues in the U.S. Navy SEAL community, Eddie Gallagher has shown why the Navy was right to push for his demotion and removal from the service.
Gallagher, a SEAL who was tried for numerous war crimes and convicted on one count, had his demotion countermanded by President Trump last year. The president claimed that this ill-advised decision ensured Gallagher was treated fairly, but the actual result was a diminishing of the Navy’s integrity and its professional ethos.
This week, Gallagher again proved why Trump was wrong to protect him.
Gallagher did so by releasing an Instagram video identifying the names, photo identification, duty status, and service units of SEALs he accuses of betraying him by testifying in his trial. As the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Gallagher accused the men of being “cowards” and included a member of the Naval Warfare Special Development Group, or Seal Team Six, in his rant. The video, titled “#TheTruthisComing,” is apparently a trailer for a larger upcoming project.
But the only truth that has come out is that which we already knew: It’s good news Gallagher is no longer a SEAL.
After all, Gallagher knows full well that by identifying the names, likenesses, and units of those he attacks, he has endangered them and their families. This is particularly true of the DEVGRU operator. Alongside the Army’s Delta Force, DEVGRU is the lead unit for the nation’s most dangerous counterterrorism operations.
Recall that DEVGRU was responsible for the killing of Osama bin Laden. Now, ask yourself a question: Do you think al Qaeda would like revenge against a DEVGRU SEAL?
Gallagher must know this. That he persists in threatening his former brothers shows he doesn’t care about putting them and their families in danger. Indeed, he appears to like it.
Some will say that Gallagher has the right to attack those who followed their consciences by speaking to investigators, but they are wrong. Whatever you think of the way that Gallagher has been treated, his first responsibility should have been to his rank and his reputation as a retired senior noncommissioned officer. Even those with some sympathy for Gallagher should agree with this. As one former Joint Special Operations Command Task Force commander put it to me:
That’s the U.S. special operations way to deal with adversity, not the production of whiny Instagram videos.
