Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL, was convicted of posing for photographs with a dead Islamic State fighter. But he was simultaneously acquitted of murder. Gallagher was demoted as a consequence before President Trump rescinded that order and allowed him to retain his rank.
Next, the Navy organized a review board to seek Gallagher’s removal from the elite SEAL special operations community. Gallagher may not have been a murderer, but multiple allegations about his poor discipline had caused Navy commanders to lose trust in his ability to continue as a team member. Trump, in contrast, appeared committed to allowing Gallagher to resume his duties without further consequence.
Recognizing the quandary, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley sought to persuade Trump to allow the review board to do its work. But then, over the weekend, Esper says he found out that Navy Secretary Richard Spencer was privately working with the White House to allow Gallagher to retire with his SEAL Trident pin. “This proposal,” Esper says, “was completely contrary to what [senior military leaders] agreed to, and … undermined everything we had been discussing with the president.” Esper then sought and received Trump’s approval to fire Spencer.
Capping things off, Trump ordered Esper to allow Gallagher to retire with his rank and record as a SEAL intact.
There is so much to learn from here, and we sincerely hope that both Trump and the Pentagon brass pick up a few lessons.
Trump’s defenders observe that the president has near supreme authority over the military, and they are correct. But Trump must learn to exercise his authority with more caution. Trump’s role as commander in chief ultimately puts him in charge of maintaining the military’s good order and associated ability to fight and win the nation’s wars. Trump’s injection of himself into the Gallagher review process undercut the military officers who are tasked with the day-to-day leadership of the immensely important Naval Special Warfare Command.
Trump’s defenders ignore that military officers and protocols exist for a reason. Trump is commander in chief, but he cannot manage every single element of military service. When Trump interferes in one highly public area long left to military commanders, he undermines military officers’ authority in the millions of other actions they must remain directly responsible for each day.
Trump, in essence, has set a precedent that military personnel must follow orders unless they can successfully lobby him personally. This is no recipe for military efficacy.
As for Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, it only makes sense that Trump allowed him to be fired. In his position, Spencer had already distinguished himself and not in a good way. He railed against legitimate congressional oversight and failed to deliver on promises to fix the nation’s broken aircraft carrier program. Spencer should have been fired long ago. But by allowing Spencer to operate without any additional constraint or supervision based on these failures, Esper indirectly forced his own hand. When Spencer went around the chain of command to engage with political staff at the White House, Esper had no choice but to remove him.
Thus, what began with a lack of discipline and professionalism on the battlefield by a noncommissioned officer has made its way up the chain of command, reflecting a lack of professionalism all the way up and a very public embarrassment for the Pentagon. We sincerely hope everyone involved learns their lesson.
