The scandals have prompted a review by the US Navy's top commanders into the behaviours of the special warfare teams. A SEAL last month pleaded guilty to hazing and assault charges for his role in the 2017 strangulation of a US Army Green Beret in Africa. The case has laid bare challenges among US special forces as the United States increasingly relies on such troops, which make up only 2 per cent of the military yet carry out most of its battles around the globe.Ī number of special forces members are on trial this year. Lieutenant Jacob Portier, the officer in charge, has been charged separately for overseeing the ceremony and not reporting the alleged stabbing. "SEALs, it seems to me, have been seeing themselves as godlike on the battlefield, and there is a real danger in taking that view of one's unit or oneself," said Gary Solis, a former military judge and Marine Corps prosecutor who teaches law at Georgetown University.ĭuring Chief Gallagher's trial, it was revealed that nearly all his platoon members readily posed for photos with the dead militant and watched as Chief Gallagher read his reenlistment oath near the body in an impromptu ceremony. It has pitted veterans against one another, both inside the courtroom and out, in a fierce debate over brotherhood, morality and loyalty. No matter the outcome, the court-martial at a US Naval Base in San Diego has provided a rare view into the insular Navy SEAL community and will likely have a long-term impact on one of the US military's most secretive and revered forces. The group would eventually lead to formal allegations that Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, a decorated sniper and medic, fatally stabbed a wounded teenage Islamic State captive in his care and shot civilians in Iraq in 2017.Ĭhief Gallagher, 40, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.Ī jury of mostly combat Marines will ultimately decide the fate of the 19-year-veteran and Bronze Star recipient charged with murder, attempted murder and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline for posing for photographs with a corpse. Its purpose was even more improbable: a forum to discuss alleged war crimes the US special forces members said their chief committed on a recent tour of duty in Iraq.
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