In 2019, Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher's court martial became yet another battleground in America's divisive culture wars as many media consumers predictably fell into one of two camps: those who believe the SEAL sniper is a war criminal and those who exalt him as a hero. The Geneva Conventions prohibit prisoners of war from being subjected to "medical or scientific experiments" that are not justified by the prisoner's medical needs, or carried out in his interest. The United States is ratcheting up national security concerns about TikTok, mandating that all federal employees delete the Chinese-owned Stew Smith and Jeff Nichols discuss mental toughness. Then they can go fuck themselves with the pussy footing bullshit.. So, in addition to having those SEALs, who I guess their testimony was simply not believed by the jury, there was also this piece of evidence of texts that Gallagher had sent to a fellow SEAL. Two Navy SEAL snipers testified Friday that their chief, Edward R. Gallagher, shot at civilians on at least two occasions during their 2017 deployment to Iraq. Steve Walsh, thank you very much for being here. Former SEAL Eddie Gallagher became a political and cultural third rail before, during and after his war crimes trial in 2019. 6,039 posts. Throughout the book's nearly 430 pages, Gallagher comes across as deeply aggrieved and persecuted, and he attacks his antagonists in strikingly personal terms. This story has been updated with the correct name of KPBS Public Media in San Diego. That flag on your uniform, and the Constitution you swear to protect, also protects you. As is often the case, however, the truth was more complicated. All rights reserved. Instead, most only heard about Gallagher committing the same kinds of horrific acts as the people we were sent to fight. The procedures kept going.". He turned to the jury of all members of the military, Marines and a couple and one SEAL, as a matter of fact, and said, who among us had not had their commander threatened to kill them at one point or another? Former SEAL Eddie Gallagher became a political and cultural third rail before, during and after his war crimes trial in 2019. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. When Tolbert said in a text message thread that they were planning to go to the SEAL Master Chief about Gallagher, Vriens wrote, "ha. Was your sense that this verdict was a surprise? "Gallagher's 'medical treatment' of his prisoner constituted a grave breach of 1949 Geneva Convention I, Article 50, causing great suffering or serious bodily injury," he said in an email. Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward "Eddie" Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. But Gallaghers repeated actions and comments proved to us that his actions were not accidents. Screenshot:. And as a SEAL who served in Alpha Platoon under the command of now-disgraced Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, those words are what helped push me to report my own chief for his horrific. To prosecutors, that was essentially a murder confession. Parlatore also said Tolbert had disparaged defense attorneys and the judge in text messages, though he did not go into specifics. "This includes 'exposure to useless and unnecessary suffering.' Former Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher. All appear on camera. This was a prosecution witness, not a so, on cross-examination, that's when the defense brought this up. The moral hazard is a system that sends troops to war and then sacrifices them to some perverse political agenda when they return home. Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher sniping at Islamic State fighters in Iraq. I'm down," adding, "he used me as bait. April 12, 2022 / Posted By : / treatment for glabellar lines / Under : . Eddies case and court-martial trial revealed a massive cancer within the military justice system, doing irreparable damage to troop morale that may last decades. Gallagher said the medical treatments were not done to hasten the fighter's death, but were the procedures that needed to be done until he died. I thought maybe he gave him ketamine or something of that nature to ease the transition from life to death. That piece of evidence right there, me holding the knife, that is the best and worst piece of evidence the prosecution had.". Navy SEAL Dalton Tolbert testimony. Naval Special Warfare Development Group is the name of the classified unit of SEALs commonly referred to as SEAL Team 6. IDGA*. He has pleaded not guilty. Listen to the trial audio from the United States Government vs. Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher from The Man In The Arena: From Fighting ISIS to Fighting for My Freedom, Available Now . "It was the same scenario; the fighter was going out and that was it," he said. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. When asked why he made the joke about the hunting knife getting the prisoner instead of the Hellfire missiles that obliterated the ISIS compound, Gallagher said it was because he took the picture holding the knife. "The Line" podcast ran for six episodes, starting in April 2021, and covers the same ground, using many of the same sources featured in the new documentary. However, he denied that any of the medical procedures, while performed for training purposes, were done to hasten the prisoner's death or against his medical interests. This is the reason that other countries call us to solve their problems. Scott and other SEALs testified that Gallagher first helped treat the prisoner, including by administering the emergency breathing tube, but then pulled out his custom-made hunting knife and stabbed him between the neck and collarbone without explanation. It is the only thing that saved my brother from a lifetime of unjust imprisonment. February 11, 2021 10:19 AM. Gallagher always maintained his innocence. Gallagher also sees a "line that's being drawn" between the officers and enlisted in the Teams. ", "From there, it just became, this guy's going out, and every procedure after that was done for just training," Gallagher said. Tolbert said he had not yet deployed with the unit, which is based in Virginia Beach, Va. "I probably won't," he said. Gallagher is accused of murdering a wounded fighter and separately firing on innocent civilians during a deployment to Mosul, Iraq in 2017. "I think some of the younger generation of SEALs -- not all; there are still plenty of pipe hitters coming up through the Teams -- have different motivations," he wrote. And, lastly, there was this piece of sort of a bombshell development, where one of the prosecution's main witnesses, this medic who was there, says, after he saw Gallagher's stab the captive, it was he, the medic, who then killed the captive, not Gallagher. "Our medic at the time pretty much nursed him to death," he said. It was a bunch of bored SEALs waiting to be told to go back to the [forward operating base]. Vriens also claimed to investigators that Gallagher had been "stalking" him, though Parlatore mentioned that both SEAL teammates lived near each other and would normally pass by each others' homes. "I assume they care about killing civilians," he said. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. "It was blatantly obvious that they [the Navy] were going to punish anybody that was going against their narrative," Gallagher said. Quite the opposite. He's been following the story for KPBS Public Media in San Diego, and he was there for the verdict and sentencing today. Aaron Rugh, shuffled members of the jury and Dille out of the courtroom and had a private discussion with Parlatore and the prosecutor. Former Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher posted the 3-minute video on both his Facebook and Instagram channels Monday. (courtesy photo) For nearly two years, the Navy peddled lies to news outlets that Eddie had shot a little girl and. ", The result is his new book, "The Man in the Arena," named for the famed Teddy Roosevelt speech about how credit is due, not to the critic, but "the man whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.". Another text said: "Good story behind this. "So I think that's why he waited until the actual trial to come out with it. CBS News The rest of that video has vanished, but three SEALs said they. They said that he went up in the sniper tower and shot at civilians. And he said he didn't have concerns about allowing Victor, who was not a medic, to try it, because there were two other medics by his side assisting and instructing him. Instead of an apology to our family for the home raid, months of unjust imprisonment and enormous legal fees, the Navy actually rewarded the prosecutors who lost the case. However, a screenshot of a text message thread obtained by Task & Purpose showed that Tolbert had referred to Rugh as this shady ass judge., According to a source familiar with the matter, Tolbert also wrote in the text message thread, what a fucking joke. Eddie Gallagher is almost certainly guilty of pissing in someone's Cheerios. "I've never said those words, never put out to the platoon like, 'Hey, this is what we'll do,'" he said in the interview. "If you don't care about killing civilians, that's your business," Tolbert wrote in one text message. You dare chide the commander in chiefs attempt to clean up this mess? In his interview with Military.com, Gallagher emphatically refuted that characterization. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. Graffam, who joined the Navy in 2010 and has been assigned to SEAL Team 7's Alpha Platoon since September 2015, deployed alongside Gallagher to Mosul in 2017, occasionally acting as a spotter for . All rights reserved. Gallagher wrote. Gallagher said in a three-minute video on his Facebook and Instagram pages that he didn't commit the war crimes he's accused of, and called the SEALs who testified against him "cowards . I look forward to laying down some lead again on that occasion., Defense attorney Tim Parlatore then asked, Who is the Real Brotherhood?. ", One of the central pieces of evidence in Gallagher's trial was a photograph of him with the prisoner's corpse, holding up a hunting knife, that he texted to a friend with the caption, "Good story behind this. You have been following this trial all along. Tolbert is expected to testify on Friday. Ret. "Not a single one of us could have imagined that we would have to report a friend and mentor. Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Eddie Gallagher in Iraq in 2017. A new four-part documentary series called "The Line" aims to filter out the noise and focus on the truth. It came as a surprise to most everyone that it was actually Eddie who requested the investigation. Solis, a former Marine judge advocate, believes this action amounted to a confession of a war crime. "I took the shot. Gallagher, a 15-year Navy SEAL, was found not guilty of murdering an Islamic State (ISIS) fighter in Iraq in 2017, as well as charges of witness intimidation and assault. They have no body in this case, very little forensic evidence. ISIS had taken over large swaths of Iraq and Syria. In his book, Gallagher describes a series of medical treatments he and other members of the platoon performed. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent those of Navy Times or its staffers. And they certainly dont murder unarmed prisoners or terrorize civilian populations. Entitled millennials. ", Vriens said that Gallagher replied: "Yes, I stabbed him in the side, then grabbed him by the hair and looked him in the eyes and I stabbed him in the neck. Solis also feels Gallagher's prosecutors badly bungled the case. The charges were lodged and prosecution depended heavily on statements made against Gallagher by platoon mates who deployed with him to Iraq to fight ISIS in 2017. toby o'brien raytheon salary. Published Jan 25, 2022 9:00 AM EST. "That's what put him on his way out. Following the court-martial, Gallagher said that he and his wife Andrea chose not to disappear into civilian life but instead to "speak the truth and just tell exactly what happened during this whole thing. It was as simple as the banner that hung on my seventh-grade teachers desk: The right choice isnt always popular, and the popular choice isnt always right. My only regret is not doing more. On the stand, his attorney said called them entitled young SEALs. "The Line" was made in concert with an Apple Original podcast with the same name. "Chiefs walked on eggshells, worried about offending the SEALs under them, fearing retaliation.". "Because I would never even think that scenario would happen. He said that newer recruits don't have the same motivation or drive as those who were around when 9/11 happened or who joined because of the terrorist attacks. This is what the president is trying to fix. The platoon believed the blast might have resulted in internal bleeding in the prisoner, so Byrne established a chest tube on his left side. And I wanted to read what these texts say. My brothers are barrel-chested freedom fighters that go to the ends of the earth to carry out our nations foreign policy, fighting our nations enemies and liberating populations of people along the way. Read Next: AC-130 Gunship Crew Gets Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medals for Saving 88 Lives in Battle, In an interview broadcast last month during the final episode of the Apple podcast "The Line," Gallagher denied stabbing the prisoner but then said, "That dude died from all the medical treatments that were done. These were part of Gallaghers effort to get a SEAL injured or killed so that we would, in his words, make it a great deployment. In the end, Gallagher showed us he wasnt our brother. In the Military.com interview, Gallagher was asked why the SEALs who accused him would, as he saw it, fabricate claims to ruin him because he was too tough on them. Gallagher was arrested on 11 September 2018 while he was visiting a treatment clinic in California where he was getting a check-up. Real brothers dont needlessly put their men at risk. I was caught off guard when Tim Parlatore, the attorney for Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, returned my text message with a call from an out of state phone. Gallagher's lawyers say the group chat was used to orchestrate a smear campaign to bring down their demanding platoon chief. The SEALs' increasing public visibility, and the fact that some younger SEALs appeared to have a sense of entitlement and to be in it for the glory, also didn't sit right with Gallagher. The other issue Gallagher had after his acquittal was the fact that the Navy wanted to take his SEAL status away. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox. In fact, we were expecting Gallagher to come out and talk to us after the sentencing, but, instead, he and his wife got in the car and they drove away. ", By ", He then agreed when the host asked whether that amounted to "nursing him to death.". dna mutation simulation answer key pdf; private chef st thomas virgin islands Former Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher posted the 3-minute video on both his Facebook and Instagram channels Monday. After repeatedly changing his story and denying that he killed the teenage prisoner at all, he finally conceded a half-truth on Apple TVs The Line documentary: He admitted to killing the prisoner, just not in the manner that my teammates saw, or in the way that he told me and other SEALs. The trial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher resumed Friday with prosecutors expected to call two Navy SEAL snipers to testify on charges he shot at innocent civilians while he led a SEAL platoon deployment to Iraq in 2017. Retired Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of brutal war crimes, posted a video on Facebook and Instagram on Monday, labeling his former teammates . We took our officers at their word when we repeatedly alerted them to these crimes. Members of Navy SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon in Mosul, Iraq (Photo courtesy of the Joshua Vriens). After two weeks of testimony, Chief Edward Gallagher was found not guilty of murdering a suspected ISIS prisoner in Iraq. "Not the type of mutiny back in the day on ships with swords, but one executed through text messages and whispers by a group of malcontents who would say anything to take down a boss they hated.". In March, President Trump announced that he was having Gallagher moved to "less restrictive. William Brangham reports and talks to Steve Walsh of San Diegos KPBS public radio about how the dramatic case evolved. But every other procedure was valid.". Gallagher, 40, was acquitted of murder and nearly all related charges in a court martial trial last year. Apparently, he sent a photograph of the captive's body. People who are okay with war crimes, Dille said. Chief Gallagher retired from the Navy with full honors at the end of November, and has announced that he was starting a SEAL-themed clothing line. But, on this last charge, the least serious of the seven charges, the jury decided to give him the maximum sentence, which is this four months in jail, and they reduced him in rank from a chief petty officer to a petty officer 1st class. Gallagher is a senior non-commissioned officer in a highly trained special operations unit. In his telling, Navy investigators, prosecutors, SEAL whistleblowers and reporters are either opportunists hoping to boost their careers by throwing him under the bus, or craven malcontents who weren't up to the rigors of combat or how Gallagher ran his platoon. What did I do as a leader to make them do something like this? Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. He also founded and edits Duffel Blog, an influential satirical newsletter for the military.