Something Rotten in the U.S.Navy

I wrote the following three or four days ago, but never got around to posting it because of family issues that have taken my time. But in light of events that were reported this morning -- the Secretary of a Defense fired the Secretary of the Navy -- I thought I should probably post it now. Here goes...

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From 1963 to 1993 I wore the uniform of the U. S. Navy: four years as a Mishipman at the U.S. Naval Academy; 12 years as a regular naval officer;  another 15 as an officer in the Navy reserve; and finally retiring as a Captain. My grandfather was a veteran of the Spanish American War and the Boxer Rebellion in China. My dad was a veteran of World War Two and retired as a Colonel in the Army reserve. My only brother, a West Pointer, served in Vietnam and spent almost 15 years in the Army. My younger son is a former Marine. Military blood flows in our family's veins. I begin with this family sketch merely to assure the reader that I'm not some anti-military wacko, who believes the nation can defend itself from all enemies, foreign and domestic, without the help of a military. Believe me, then, when I express tremendous respect for and gratitude to the United States Navy. It seems, however, the Navy has changed.

Back in October, a Navy court upheld Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher's conviction on a single charge of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter in Iraq. Chief Gallagher, a Navy SEAL, had been acquitted on six charges, including the murder of the ISIS terrorist. He was sentenced to a reduction in rank, which could cost him upwards of $200,000 in retirement. 

I won't spend a lot of space and time addressing Chief Gallagher's trial, but it was a travesty, the result of improper and illegal actions by a prosecution determined to do anything for a conviction. The prosecution, abetted by agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (aka NCIS), conducted warrantless surveillance and even tracked the emails of Chief Gallagher's defense team. They're also being investigated for manipulating witness statements, misusing immunity grants, and attempting to keep pro-Gallagher witnesses from testifying by using a bogus “target letter.” It appears they also attempted to taint the military jury pool by illegally leaking documents to the media. Worse yet, they then tried to cover it all up when their shenanigans surfaced. It would seem the fix was in, and most likely came from above.

But last week President Trump signed an order reversing the sentence and promoting Chief Gallagher to the grade of E-7, the rank he held before the trial. This, of course, is something the Commander-in-Chief  has every right to do. And I applaud him for doing so.  

The prosecution of Chief Gallagher also sheds light on the politicization of the Department of Defense. Sadly, far too many senior officers are little more than self-serving careerists. For example, Rear Admiral Collin Green, who heads the Navy's Special Warfare Command, seemingly believes the president shouldn't have overturned Chief Gallagher's single conviction and decided to challenge his Commander-in-Chief by convening what's called a Trident Review Board to force Chief Gallagher to give up his SEAL Trident pin. In other words, because the Cammander-in-Chief intervened, Admiral Davis cannot punish the Chief using what has become a corrupt military justice system. And so, Admiral Davis decided to punish him administratively by, in effect, expelling him from the SEAL community he served loyally for so long.

But President Trump will have none of it. After learning of Admiral Davis' plans to strip Chief Gallagher of his Trident, the president tweeted the following on Thursday: “The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin. This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!” Yes, indeed, "Get back to business!" Always good advice when you've drifted away from your primary mission. 

In addition to his tacit insubordination, Admiral Davis has also been accused of making contemptuous comments about the president during meetings with subordinates (His spokesperson denies this.) and firing several senior enlisted personnel and officers who apparently supported Chief Gallagher. Interestingly, in the midst of all this, a spokesperson for Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday, stated that the CNO "supports his commanders in executing their roles, to include Rear Adm. Green." We'll see if that support holds if Admiral Green continues in his attempts to thwart his Commander-in-Chief. I'd also encourage the CNO, in addition to supporting his commanders, to support the men and women who actually form the pointy end of the spear, those who must often make near instantaneous life and death decisions under conditions JAG lawyers will never experience. 

Given the leadership problems plaguing the Navy's Special Warfare community, I'm surprised the president hasn't told SECNAV to replace much of that leadership with officers who understand the concept of the chain of command. In the past, if a senior officer disagreed with a superior's decision or order, and for whatever reason could not accept it, he would act honorably and resign or retire. But he certainly would not work in the shadows in an effort to undermine the superior's decision. After what we've seen from the FBI, the Justice and State Departments, and the intelligence community, it would seem a lot of folks in Washington are more concerned with preserving and protecting their power than the Constitution.

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After today's firing, I suspect there may be a few more changes in the Department of the Navy.