Trump makes SEAL Gallagher a chief again

[Dric902]

Timothy Simons, History teacher (retired)

The president, the commander in chief, is not in the military by law. If they were in the military just before becoming president, like Washington, Grant, Eisenhower, they take off the uniform, never to put in on again. Eisenhower requested he be buried in his uniform, and he was, but he wasn’t then a living person anymore.

While president, none of the US presidents returned salutes to members of the military. Not even Eisenhower would salute, but he would say thank you, nod, smile and even stop and talk to his military escort sometimes. Ronald Reagan started the presidential salute, and it became almost a necessary myth.

About the same time, members of congress wore label pins indicating that they were members of congress. They still have to wear them, but some conservatives started wearing US flag lapel pins. Now without one, it is unpatriotic.

UCMJ covers all those in the US military. The President is governed by the US Constitution. There are many, many more laws, municipal, county and state, outside those in the constitution. It is still debatable whether a sitting US president can be arrested for violating those laws, and what a municipality would do with the president if such occurred.

President Grant was the only sitting president to be arrested in Washington, D.C. for speeding through town (in a horse buggy). He paid the bail, and was driven back to work by the arresting police officer. The bail was forfeited, because he didn’t appear in court. The bail was considered just to be the fine. It wasn’t a very big fine, but presidents aren’t allowed to drive themselves anymore, unless it is around the White House lawn.

.

[Dric902]

This is turning into a complete media goatscrew

 

Now the news is breaking that Spencer has been forced to resign:

 

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper asked for the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer on Sunday after losing confidence in him over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq, the Pentagon said.

Spencer’s resignation came in the wake of the controversial case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was accused of war crimes on a 2017 deployment. He was acquitted of murder but convicted in July of posing with the corpse of a captive.

Esper asked for Spencer’s resignation after learning that he had privately proposed to White House officials that if they did not interfere with proceedings against Gallagher, then Spencer would ensure that Gallagher was able to retire as a Navy SEAL, with his Trident insignia.

Spencer’s private proposal to the White House — which he did not share with Esper over the course of several conversations about the matter — contradicted his public position on the Gallagher case, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
…
Esper and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, learned of Spencer’s private offer to the White House when they spoke with President Trump on Friday, Hoffman said.

[pipedreams]

Navy

Published 2 hours ago

Last Update 30 mins ago

Esper fires Navy secretary, SEAL will keep Trident pin, Pentagon says

"Defense Secretary Mark Esper fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer Sunday over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL who posed for a photo next to an Islamic State terrorist's corpse in Iraq, and the SEAL will be able to keep his Trident pin, a Pentagon spokesman said Sunday.

“Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper has asked for the resignation of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer after losing trust and confidence in him regarding his lack of candor over conversations with the White House involving the handling of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement Sunday."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/navy-seal-eddie-gallagher-review-board-trump-interference?fbclid=IwAR2ds19tci7hojoryrlaZn9iVMVctNUwyU325aPfQEpwA1dB2K2F7OpAgBg

[Dric902]

Watch what happens when the media feeding frenzy is over.

154 Trident pin have been removed from troops since 2011. But they don’t get press coverage. You know who is losing in this entire cluster, every Special Warfare soldier who isn’t named Gallagher. 
if Trump decides that women should be SEALs tomorrow because Ivana is such a badass?

 

remember your position the next time there is a democrap CinC

 

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Edited November 24, 2019 by Dric902

[Fnfalman]

1 hour ago, Dric902 said:

Watch what happens when the media feeding frenzy is over.

154 Trident pin have been removed from troops since 2011. But they don’t get press coverage. You know who is losing in this entire cluster, every Special Warfare soldier who isn’t named Gallagher. 
if Trump decides that women should be SEALs tomorrow because Ivana is such a badass?

 

remember your position the next time there is a democrap CinC

 

.

There were already democraps CICs.  Obama made three chicks Rangers.
 

America is still here. American military might still kicks asses and take initials. 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Fnfalman

[Dric902]

1 minute ago, Fnfalman said:

There were already democraps CICs. America is still here. American military might still kicks asses and take initials. 

I’ll compare scars any day
.

[Fnfalman]

1 minute ago, Dric902 said:

I’ll compare scars any day
.

Here are my SCARs. Show me yours. 
 

[Dric902]

Here’s a few

 

[Fog]

Looks like President Trump smoked out and canned another swamp creature.

Maybe some people further down the line will get the hint now and start behaving.

[NPTim]

On 11/15/2019 at 7:48 PM, TX OMFS said:

On 11/14/2019 at 7:23 PM, janice6 said:

I'm simply saying good thing or not, there is a chain of command and the CinC makes the final decision. I don't know who can "correct" him, if he didn't obviously violate some laws.

The voters can correct him. Something neverTrumpers & leftists have forgot. We don't have coups, we have elections.

Au contrar mon frair, a coup is precisely what we are in the middle of. A poorly planned and executed one, but one none the less. 

[TX OMFS]

Au contrar mon frair, a coup is precisely what we are in the middle of. A poorly planned and executed one, but one none the less. 

I agree. I guess I meant we should be above that in favor of the ballot box.

[NPTim]

4 hours ago, Dric902 said:

And every dirtbag who loses a stripe and half a months pay will be “appealing to Ceaser” and calling a press conference.

the UCMJ is law, as much as any other. Let warriors deal with warriors, not press coverage and political expedience.

this never should have been a story

 

.

No, not anymore than all black people appealed to 44 when they had a an unpleasant encounter with the police.

This was a special case, he was accused of murder, well it turns out he didn’t do it. But, I guess they had a hard on for him so the convicted him of conduct unbecoming, an often use ambiguous charge that covers everything from spitting on the sidewalk to doing the horizontal mambo with the provost marshal’s wife. To took a picture with a corpse for **** sake. Article 15 him. No they have a hard on for this guy.

[Fog]

Exactly, he was singled out, it was a miscarriage of the military justice system and it was clownishly conducted. After multiple failures the "system" was still trying to get him. Remember, the system always protects itself first and foremost, it is like an evil love child of the Borg and Hydra.

[holyjohnson]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gallagher_(Navy_SEAL)#Court_martial_result

 

Court martial result

Conviction and demotion

Gallagher was acquitted on six of seven charges on July 2, 2019; the jury found him guilty of the seventh charge, of "wrongfully pos[ing] for an unofficial picture with a human casualty".^[25] That charge carried a maximum prison sentence of four months. Since Gallagher had already served more time in jail than the sentence, he was released.^[23]

After the trial, it was considered possible that Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Corey Scott, the medic whose surprise testimony undermined the prosecution's case, would be prosecuted for perjury, although such cases are traditionally difficult to make; nothing came of it, however.^[2] The same jury that tried Gallagher sentenced him on July 3, 2019, for posing with the corpse.^[26] The jury gave Gallagher, who had already served the maximum prison time for this charge, a demotion from Chief Petty Officer (E-7) to Petty Officer First Class (E-6); this was lighter than other potential punishments, such as an other than honorable discharge (OTH), which were not handed down.^[27][25] President Trump congratulated Gallagher on his acquittal over Twitter.^[28] Four weeks later, President Trump announced over Twitter he had directed the Secretary of the Navy to revoke Navy Achievement Medals given to members of the prosecution team that oversaw Gallagher's case.^[29][30]Fund.^[31]

 

 

and in other news.....

https://apnews.com/7902f59c504d427ca89a9bd3484a207d

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday fired the Navy’s top official, ending a stunning clash between President Donald Trump and top military leadership over the fate of a SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq.

Esper said he had lost confidence in Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and alleged that Spencer proposed a deal with the White House behind his back to resolve the SEAL’s case. Trump has championed the matter of Navy Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who was acquitted of murder in the stabbing death of an Islamic State militant captive but convicted of posing with the corpse while in Iraq in 2017.

Spencer’s firing was a dramatic turn in the fast-changing and politically charged controversy. It exposed fissures in Trump’s relationship with the highest ranks of the U.S. military and raised questions about the appropriate role of a commander in chief in matters of military justice.

Gallagher was demoted from chief petty officer to a 1st class petty officer after his conviction by a military jury. Trump, however, restored Gallagher’s rank this month.

The situation escalated again in recent days.

On Wednesday, the Navy had notified Gallagher that he would face a Navy SEAL review board to determine if he should be allowed to remain in the elite force. While Trump then tweeted that he would not allow the Navy to remove Gallagher from the SEALs by taking away his Trident Pin, which designates a SEAL member, the White House told the Navy it could proceed as planned, according to a Navy officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

That initially appeared to defuse the situation. The Navy SEAL review board was due to hear Gallagher’s case on Dec. 2.

Spencer, speaking Saturday at an international security forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, said that he did not consider a tweet by Trump a formal order to stop the Navy review board.

“I need a formal order to act,” Spencer said. He said of Trump’s tweets, “I don’t interpret them as a formal order.”

But on Sunday, Esper said he had learned that Spencer had “privately” proposed to the White House that Gallagher be allowed to retire in his current rank and without losing his status as a SEAL. Esper said Spencer had not told him of the proposal to the White House, causing him to lose “trust and confidence.”

A spokesperson for Spencer, Navy Cmdr. Sarah Higgins, said Spencer had no immediate comment. The White House did not provide details of Spencer’s alleged private proposal regarding Gallagher.

In yet another twist, Esper also directed on Sunday that Gallagher be allowed to retire at the end of this month, and that the Navy review board that was scheduled to hear his case starting Dec. 2 be cancelled. At Esper’s direction, Gallagher will be allowed to retire as a SEAL at his current rank.

That effectively gives Trump the outcome he sought.

In a letter to Trump acknowledging “my termination,” Spencer said he had concluded that he and the president appear no longer to share the same understanding of “the key principle of good order and discipline.”

“I cannot in good conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took in the presence of my family, my flag and my faith to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he wrote. He did not cite a specific order.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Esper’s position had been that the Navy’s disciplinary process should be allowed to “play itself out objectively and deliberately.”

“However, at this point, given the events of the last few days,” Esper decided that Gallagher should be allowed to retain his SEAL status, Hoffman said. He said Esper had concluded that Gallagher could not, under the circumstances, receive a fair shake from the Navy.

In the written statement, Esper said of Spencer: “I am deeply troubled by this conduct shown by a senior DOD official. Unfortunately, as a result I have determined that Secretary Spencer no longer has my confidence to continue in his position. I wish Richard well.”

Gallagher, speaking Sunday on “Fox & Friends,” alleged the Navy was acting in retaliation.

“They could have taken my Trident at any time they wanted,” he said. “Now they’re trying to take it after the president restored my rank.”

Those who have their Trident pins removed will no longer be SEALs but could remain in the Navy. The Navy has revoked 154 Trident pins since 2011.

Spencer, 65, had served as Navy secretary since August 2017. He was a Wall Street investment banker and is a veteran of the Marine Corps. He and Esper were Pentagon peers during the period that Esper served as Army secretary, prior to being sworn in as defense secretary last July.

In a series of tweets Sunday evening, Trump said he had been unhappy with the Navy’s handling of the Gallagher case. “Likewise, large cost overruns from past administration’s contracting procedures were not addressed to my satisfaction,” Trump added without specifics.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a statement saying Spencer “did the right thing” and “should be proud of standing up to President Trump when he was wrong, something too many in this Administration and the Republican Party are scared to do. Good order, discipline, and morale among the Armed Services must transcend politics, and Secretary Spencer’s commitment to these principles with not be forgotten.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Oklahoma Republican who chairs the Armed Services Committee, said Trump and Esper “deserve to have a leadership team who has their trust and confidence.” He also acknowledged that he and Spencer had disagreed at times over the management of specific Navy programs.

Trump said he was nominating Kenneth Braithwaite, a retired Navy rear admiral and the current U.S. ambassador to Norway, to succeed Spencer. In a tweet, Trump called Braithwaite “a man of great achievement and success.”

 

[TX OMFS]

"The Navy has revoked 154 Trident pins since 2011."

That seems high.

[Ricordo]

Fwiw, Spencer wrote in his resignation letter that he 'cannot in good conscience' obey the order to stop Gallagher's case going before the review board, because he believes it 'violates the sacred oath' he took.

 

Which reminds me of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLKSViTveuE

[Dric902]

The charge sheet includes:

Allegedly stabbing an ISIS member to death, posing for a photograph next to the body, and operating an aerial drone above it which brought “discredit upon the armed forces.”

In June of 2017 allegedly “gunning down” a noncombatant male.

In July of 2017 allegedly “gunning down” a noncombatant female.

Alleged abuse of tramadol, an opiate, according to his defense attorney Philip Stackhouse.

Alleged possession of Sustanon-250, an anabolic steroid – allegedly found during an NCIS search of his residence back in June, when he was detained the first time.

Three counts of obstruction for allegedly telling his men not to say anything about the allegations.

 

found to be trending and sentenced to MAGAMAGA

the other 154 just needed better press coverage

 

.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Dric902

[pipedreams]

1 hour ago, TX OMFS said:

"The Navy has revoked 154 Trident pins since 2011."

That seems high.

Who was in office since 2011?

[Fnfalman]

2 hours ago, Dric902 said:

The charge sheet includes:

Allegedly stabbing an ISIS member to death, posing for a photograph next to the body, and operating an aerial drone above it which brought “discredit upon the armed forces.”

In June of 2017 allegedly “gunning down” a noncombatant male.

In July of 2017 allegedly “gunning down” a noncombatant female.

Alleged abuse of tramadol, an opiate, according to his defense attorney Philip Stackhouse.

Alleged possession of Sustanon-250, an anabolic steroid – allegedly found during an NCIS search of his residence back in June, when he was detained the first time.

Three counts of obstruction for allegedly telling his men not to say anything about the allegations.

 

found to be trending and sentenced to MAGAMAGA

the other 154 just needed better press coverage

 

.

OMG!!!  Such horrific crimes!!!

[Dric902]

2 hours ago, pipedreams said:

Who was in office since 2011?

Did you defend the ones between 2011 and 2017?

maybe they needed a wife with a big social media business to ‘get the word out’

.

[Dric902]

11 minutes ago, Fnfalman said:

OMG!!!  Such horrific crimes!!!

Three, 3, three counts of killings 

two in 2017

 

MAGAMAGACOVFEFE

 

[Fnfalman]

48 minutes ago, Dric902 said:

Three, 3, three counts of killings 

two in 2017

 

MAGAMAGACOVFEFE

 

Since when killing the bad guys is a "bad" thing?  For a former soldier, you sure have a strange way of looking at things. 

[Dric902]

3 minutes ago, Fnfalman said:

Since when killing the bad guys is a "bad" thing?  For a former soldier, you sure have a strange way of looking at things. 

Just got this today in the mail.

must be a mental disability

[holyjohnson]

Okay.

so Chief Gallagher was found NOT Guilty of 16 of the 17 charges due to the testimony of people actually in the courtyard with the dead terrorist.

Chief Gallagher did take a selfie with the corpse and was found Guilty of it and his time was served.

the selfie showed the Chief with a large knife holding the head of the dead Terrorist. the allegation is the dead Terrorist was stabbed in the neck and killed by the Chief,yet the picture shows no neck wounds or blood anywhere but his leg wound that was already bandaged and tourniquet by Chief Gallagher.

12 other people took the same "trophy" style photos of the dead Terrorist and none where charged or disciplined, including 1 if not 2 Officers. 

testimony from people actually there said Gallagher never stabbed anyone,the "wound" they saw in the investigation was from a trac tube,the same trac tube that a different Marine testified that that Marine Raider plugged the tube to stop the ISIS fighter who was unconscious and going to be tortured by the Iraqi Military, in his opinion.the same Marine that said Chief Gallagher gave aid to the ISIS terrorist while waiting for a Medic.

Chief Gallagher never shot the ISIS Terrorist,he was wounded by a bomb and brought to the Marines for aid.

Chief Gallagher was put in solitary confinement unnecessarily, evidence was hidden from the Court Martial and Chief Gallagher`s lawyer, (questions about who appointed Gallagher`s lawyer and why were starting to be asked) as was testimony,video and potential other criminal acts by subordinates and Officers present that were never even looked into or brought up.

i have no idea why President Trump involved himself in this case,but it seems that involvement was a good thing and stopped a travesty from happening.

Chief Gallagher is retiring and should be allowed to retire the way the court or his Superiors found him, and not create some lesser court of review to try and take some punitive action thats beneath all of them.

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by holyjohnson

[Fnfalman]

4 hours ago, Dric902 said:

Just got this today in the mail.

must be a mental disability

 

I'm not a head shrinker, nor do I play one on TV.  However, you seem to stick on this whole thing about Gallagher smoking some tangos; especially from somebody who was Combat Arms, just struck me as strange.

 

I guess I'm just a poor, dumb old grunt who isn't too sensitive about killings and deaths.