The 40-year-old was accused of committing a number of war crimes while deployed in Iraq, including using his sniper's rifle to shoot at a young girl walking along a river bank and an older man. Gallagher's behavior during his eighth deployment to Iraq had alarmed his colleagues so much that they asked to meet with their top troop commander to raise concerns, according to a report obtained by the New York Times. According to a confidential Navy criminal investigation report obtained by The New York Times, they gave him the bloody details and asked for a formal investigation.īut instead of launching an investigation that day, the troop commander and his senior enlisted aide - both longtime comrades of the accused platoon leader, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher- warned the seven platoon members that speaking out could cost them and others their careers, according to the report.A Navy SEAL chief accused of shooting civilians in Iraq and stabbing an injured enemy fighter to death while they were receiving getting medical attention was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder charges Tuesday.Įddie Gallagher, a decorated veteran, faced charges for more than a dozen crimes while deployed in Iraq, but on Tuesday was convicted of only a single charge of posing with the dead body of an ISIS fighter. Tired of being brushed off, seven members of the platoon called a private meeting with their troop commander in March 2018 at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego. But their frustration grew as months passed and they saw no sign of official action. Navy SEAL commandos from Team 7’s Alpha Platoon said they had seen their highly decorated platoon chief commit shocking acts in Iraq. Indiscriminately spraying neighborhoods with rockets and machine-gun fire.

Picking off a school-age girl and an old man from a sniper’s roost. Stabbing a defenseless teenage captive to death.

Navy seals warned war crimes