In war, the brotherhood bond between elite special operators becomes a vital lifeline. The "never leave a man behind" ethos provides a reassuring certainty that your teammates have your back, no matter what. So when politics, convoluted legal cases, and media spotlights enter the picture, complications inevitably arise.
The situation involving Navy SEAL veteran and convicted war criminal Eddie Gallagher accusing Congressman and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw of betrayal provides a case study ripe with nuance and clashing values. After extensive analysis from my perspective as both a patriotic American and a gamer who respects brotherhood loyalty, it becomes clear there were no easy answers. Lives dedicated to service and sacrifice got caught in the breaches between military accountability, political support, and steadfast personal loyalty.
Eddie Gallagher‘s Highly Decorated Career Provides Context
Eddie Gallagher enlisted in the Navy in 1999. After Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, he graduated with Class 216 and was assigned to SEAL Team 5. He later joined SEAL Team 1, SEAL Team 7, and served as a sniper, medic, and lead petty officer. Over his nearly 20 year career, Gallagher completed eight overseas deployments, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His numerous awards and decorations included two Bronze Star medals with "V" combat distinction devices, indicating valor in the face of the enemy. At the time of his 2018 court martial, he was ranked as a SEAL Chief Petty Officer (E-7) with Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7 serving as his leadership role.
Gallagher‘s reputation reflected a warrior with the trust of subordinates, combat experience that commanded respect, and a massively experienced operator SEAL leaders relied upon to lead dangerous special operations missions. Which made the war crimes allegations against him all the more shocking within the tight-knit Naval Special Warfare community.
Timeline of Gallagher‘s Case and Political Support Efforts
In 2018, allegations surfaced from members of Gallagher‘s SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon claiming serious violations of laws of war during their 2017 deployment to Mosul, Iraq to fight ISIS.
The most severe accusations included premeditated murder of a badly wounded ISIS detainee receiving medical aid, indiscriminately shooting civilians, obstruction of justice measures to cover up incidents, and threatening fellow SEALs who might report his alleged war crimes through a “blacklist.”
NCIS investigators levied numerous charges against Gallagher, including murder, attempted murder, obstruction of justice, and bringing “discredit upon the armed forces.” He faced potential life in prison without parole if convicted on the charges.
Gallagher proclaimed he was wrongly accused. As the case unfolded, conservative Republican Congressmen Ralph Norman and Duncan Hunter circulated a letter signed by 40 Republican lawmakers advocating for Gallagher’s release from pretrial detention in March 2019.
President Trump intervened to order Gallagher moved to less restrictive confinement, in the face of Pentagon concerns about undermining military judicial proceedings. This move cast the case further into partisan politics and the ongoing conflict between Trump and the military establishment.
Clashing Perspectives on Loyalty, Justice and Political Calculations
For Gallagher’s family, FOX News supporters, and sympathizers in the special operations community, the decorated SEAL was a war hero being railroaded and abandoned by teammates beholden to a military justice system with a presumed anti-combat bias.
From this perspective, Gallagher deserved loyalty. He did his duty through eight deployments and deserved the benefit of the doubt against questionable allegations dredged up by entitled subordinate SEALs with an axe to grind.
For military prosecutors and those valuing accountability, justice required pursuing alleged war crimes violations regardless of Gallagher’s record or political pressure. From this standpoint, no one is above the law – especially not elite special operators – and covering up atrocities erodes ethical standards and command authority.
As a patriotic American gamer inclined to respect the warrior bond, I can appreciate why Gallagher would expect universal public support from a fellow SEAL in Dan Crenshaw. But analyzing Crenshaw‘s situation, his actions become more understandable if not exactly sympathetic.
The Complicated Calculus for Dan Crenshaw
Dan Crenshaw graduated BUD/S in 2008 and joined the SEAL Teams, completing five overseas deployments and reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. After retiring in 2016 when an IED blast cost him his right eye, he answered a new call – elected office.
As a Republican Congressman, Crenshaw navigated an equally murky battlefield. Supporting a convicted war criminal could play well with Trump loyalists but hurt his brand as a principledleader. Staying silent could be viewed as a betrayal by SEAL brothers expecting solidarity but was safer politically.
Unlike Gallagher‘s wife, Crenshaw‘s career hadn‘t conditioned him to fight terrify authority for a cause. His path taught adherence to chain of command. While fellow SEAL Gallagher saw silence as betrayal, politician Crenshaw saw it as pragmatic long game strategy.
Neither perspective is fully right or wrong when tribal loyalties and existential values clash in the halls of power. As more decorated veterans enter politics, expect more situations that blur lines between loyalty and justice.
Ideally, leaders with courage turn crises of confidence into teaching moments. My hope is Crenshaw hears Gallagher’s critique yet also convinces him that moral authority in a democracy comes from bringing people together, not dividing them.
But that may be too idealistic given political realities. Washington has ways of infecting even war heroes with expediency calculations. Still, this story reminds us that some matters should remain sacrosanct – especially bonds forged through selfless sacrifice mere citizens rarely fully comprehend.
At minimum, both these men deserve our appreciation for their service. I know their choices carried burdens and shards of shrapnel unseen.