While Eddie Gallagher will retire with his SEAL Trident intact, the fate of three other SEALs who were involved in his case is uncertain.
The three SEALs, Lt. Jacob Portier, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Breisch, and Lt. Thomas MacNeil, could be removed from the elite special operations community pending a review board ordered by Naval Special Warfare commander Rear Adm. Collin Green. Portier’s lawyer, Jeremiah Sullivan, told the Washington Examiner that he asked Navy officials for an update on his client’s status on Friday and Sunday but has received no response so far.
“It’s my understanding Green is going full speed ahead,” he said.
Portier served as Gallagher’s commander during a 2017 deployment to Iraq, when Gallagher was alleged to have committed war crimes. Breisch and MacNeil testified in Gallagher’s trial, after which Gallagher was found not guilty of all charges except taking a picture with the corpse of the Islamic State fighter he’d been accused of murdering. Portier was accused of failing to report the crimes up the chain of command, but the Navy dropped the charges in August.
Gallagher will keep his Trident thanks to President Trump’s intervention. The subsequent fallout led to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer being fired on Sunday.
Portier has stayed out of the public eye, a posture Sullivan said is characteristic of the young officer who has resigned his position and simply wants to move on with his life.
“The problem is the Gallagher effect — the Gallagher case — encompasses more than Eddie Gallagher,” Sullivan said.
Given Trump’s interest in other war crimes cases, Sullivan said he wouldn’t be surprised if Trump acted to ensure that Portier and the other SEALs keep their Tridents.
Green has spent the last several months working to clean up the SEAL community’s image following the Gallagher case and several other scandals. In an inspector general complaint filed against Green, Gallagher alleged the admiral conspired to pull his Trident and intentionally flouted Trump’s orders.
Naval Special Warfare Command did not respond by press time to the Washington Examiner’s request for an update on the status of Portier, Breisch, and MacNeil.
