• After two weeks of testimony, the jury in the trial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher have gone into deliberations.
• The jury will decide whether to convict Gallagher on charges including premeditated murder, attempted premeditated murder, and obstruction of justice. At least five of the seven jurors are needed to convict.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO — The military judge in the war crimes trial of Navy Chief Eddie Gallagher said that some witnesses offered "inconsistent" testimony, but it was solely up to the jury to "determine the believability" as they deliberate over whether the veteran SEAL murdered a wounded ISIS fighter or shot at innocent civilians in Iraq in 2017.

Both sides in the case presented their closing arguments before a jury of five Marines and two sailors on Monday. They will now decide Gallagher's fate after nearly two weeks of testimony.

Prosecutors painted a picture of a man, proud of his kill, who sent a "trophy photo" of the murdered detainee to friends, while the defense argued that the government and NCIS agents had a "target fixation" on Gallagher that led them to not ask important questions or consider alternatives.

"There are huge gaping holes of reasonable doubt," defense attorney Tim Parlatore said.

Before he spoke, Cmdr. Jeffrey Pietrzyk put up a slide on the screen behind him with a text Gallagher had sent to a friend: "Good story behind this. Got him with my hunting knife," Gallagher texted, along with a picture of himself holding a knife next to the ISIS fighter's head.

"Those are his words," Pietrzyk said. The prosecutor added that numerous SEALs had reported him — "his SEALs," he said, pointing at Gallagher — and the jury had photos and video evidence, along with the chief's own words, written in private text messages.

"We know [of the stabbing] because Chief Gallagher said so," Pietrzyk said. "Got him with my hunting knife."

Pietrzyk acknowledged that a wounded ISIS fighter wouldn't get much sympathy from the jury or anyone else. "I'm not going to argue to you that this was a particularly sympathetic victim," he said. Before he was hit by a US air strike, Pietrzyk said, "he would've done anything in his power to kill Americans."

But, Pietrzyk said, he was no longer fighting, and receiving medical care. "At that point, he was no longer a lawful target," he said. "We're not ISIS. We we capture someone they're out of the fight. That's it."

In laying out the government's case, Pietrzyk mentioned other SEALs had testified that Gallagher had fired on innocent civilians from a sniper tower. He went on to say that Gallagher had tried to obstruct justice and retaliate against those who reported on him by threatening that he "had shit on all of them."

Some of the witnesses in the case had "straight out lied to you," Pietryzk told the jury, while some had told partial truths and others had risked it all and told them everything.

"Did they choose the truth, or did they choose loyalty to Chief Gallagher?" Pietryzk asked, then putting up the picture of Gallagher posing with the dead ISIS fighter.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These are worth one: Guilty, of all specifications and charges."

The closing from the defense side started off much like its opening statement, with defense attorney Tim Parlatore asserting that "this case is not about a murder. It's about a mutiny."

Parlatore said it was only a few "young entitled" members of the SEAL platoon who hated Gallagher that reported him for war crimes. Parlatore said those SEALs had taken part in a mutiny and conspired in a text message "sewing circle" to get back at him for stealing items from them and putting them at unnecessary risk on the battlefield.

"When the chief pushed them, they didn't like it," Parlatore said.

Gallagher is charged with two counts of attempted premeditated murder in separate incidents of using a sniper rifle to target noncombatants.

Of the first, involving an old man, Parlatore said there was "no credible evidence" the killing was unlawful, since government witnesses testified they had fired warning shots without telling Gallagher, who then fired and said over the radio, "you guys missed him, but I got him."

The second alleged shooting, of a young girl which only one SEAL witnessed, Parlatore speculated that a girl weighing between 80 to 90 pounds being shot by a .300 Win Mag round would've done far more damage. Special Operator 1st Class Joshua Vriens said he noticed the girl clutched her stomach and was dragged away by others.

"It doesn't make any sense," Parlatore said. "These charges should never have been presented to you."

Parlatore also argued that if Gallagher had indeed stabbed the ISIS fighter in the neck, there would've been blood everywhere, to include on his hands, uniform, boots, and the knife.

"Stabbing somebody in the neck is a very messy endeavor," Parlatore said. "The terrorist did die but Eddie Gallagher did not kill him."

Defense attorney Marc Mukasey took the second half of the closing argument, attacking the investigation itself and the actions of the lead agent, Joseph Warpinski. As Mukasey mentioned, Warpinski admitted in testimony that he had made mistakes.

"In a case this serious, when someone's life is on the line," Mukasey said. "You can't tolerate mistakes."

Mukasey reiterated the judge's instructions to the jury — that the government had the burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, but they had failed.

"They have failed in an epic way to prove the cause of death, forget Chief Gallagher," Mukasey said, as a slide appeared on screen showing other possibilities: Hellfire missiles, blast lung, internal injuries, and treatment from the Iraqi Emergency Response Division.

"Reasonable alternatives offer reasonable doubt," Mukasey said. He told the jury they were the "guardians of justice" and asked them to "deliver the verdict that gives Chief Gallagher his liberty."

The jury began deliberation on Monday afternoon. They'll decide whether to convict Gallagher on charges of premeditated murder, attempted premeditated murder, obstruction of justice, and others. At least five, or two-thirds of the jury, are needed to convict.

SEE ALSO: After a shocking turn in a SEAL's war crimes trial, Navy prosecutors weigh perjury charges against their own witness

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs explain the dangers of overplanning in both the military and business

• US Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher has been found not guilty of murder and attempted murder by a jury.
• The verdict was reached by the five Marines and two sailors on Tuesday after the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments the day before.
• Gallagher, 40, was accused of stabbing an injured teenage ISIS fighter to death and of shooting at civilians during a deployment to Iraq in 2017.
• Seven members of Gallagher's own platoon leveled the accusations against him, describing him as a reckless murderer who failed to distinguish between civilians and the enemy.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The jury assigned to the case of accused Special Warfare Chief Edward Gallagher has found the decorated Navy SEAL not guilty of murder and attempted murder after a whirlwind trial that included bombshell revelations and twists.

The verdict was reached by the five Marines and two sailors on Tuesday after the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments the day before.

Gallagher, 40, was accused of stabbing an injured teenage ISIS fighter to death and of shooting at civilians during a deployment to Iraq in 2017. Seven members of Gallagher's own platoon leveled the accusations against him, describing him as a reckless murderer who failed to distinguish between civilians and the enemy.

The accusers communicated through a WhatsApp group called "The Sewing Circle," a seemingly innocuous name for a group dedicated to discussing the alleged war crimes of a decorated sniper and medic. These discussions would be the basis on which Navy prosecutors would bring charges against Gallagher.

Read more: Trump tells US troops 'this is not a political speech' and immediately makes a political statement in speech

The case received national attention after a searing New York Times report detailed Gallagher's gory accusations, including the stabbing of an injured teenage ISIS fighter and shooting an elderly man and a young girl. The report claimed the accusers were told to keep quiet about Gallagher's actions, or risk losing their tridents -- the coveted badge identifying a sailor as a Navy SEAL.

Gallagher's case drew further attention in May when it was reported that he was one of several accused troops being considered for a pardon from President Trump. The news sharply divided the military community, and even the Navy SEALs themselves. The SEAL community is known for being especially close knit, but the Gallagher case created a clear division between old-school defenders and younger skeptics.

"When I heard about it first, I said, 'That's impossible, it's outright stupid. It's going to go away.' Well, it didn't," Thomas "Drago" Dzieran, a former Navy SEAL, told the Washington Examiner in May.

"I said, I cannot sit on the sidelines, I need to take [a stand] and bring it up. What they do is not right."

Retired Adm. William McRaven, a legend within the SEAL community who helped plan the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, weighed in saying he was concerned Trump's potential pardon may have exercised undue command influence over the trial's proceedings.

Gallagher's case took a dramatic turn before the trial even started when it was revealed in May that prosecutors had embedded email tracking software in their correspondence with Gallagher's defense team. The revelation outraged lead defense attorney Timothy Parlatore, who told the Washington Examiner he would be filing an ethics complaint against lead Navy prosecutor Cmdr. Chris Czaplak.

Navy Capt. Aaron Rugh, the judge overseeing the case, would ultimately dismiss Czaplak over the revelations and released Gallagher from pre-trial custody. He also lowered Gallagher's maximum possible sentence to life with the possibility of parole. Motions to dismiss the trial were denied.

The trial started on June 17, with the prosecution presenting two witnesses who claimed they had witnessed Gallagher stab the injured teenager. Prosecutors showed the court pictures Gallagher had taken with the teen's corpse. They said the chief bragged about the kill to fellow SEALs back home in text messages.

"Good story behind this. Got him with my hunting knife," read one text Gallagher sent.

The testimony against Gallagher appeared damning, but the case took an unexpected turn when Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Corey Scott admitted it was he -- not Gallagher -- that was responsible for the death of the injured teenage fighter. Scott admitted to seeing Gallagher stab the teen, but said he asphyxiated him in an effort to save him from his Iraqi captors, who he had seen torture, rape, and kill other prisoners.

"I knew he was going to die anyway," said Scott, a trained combat medic. "I wanted to save him from waking up to what had happened next."

The shocking revelation caused a flustered Navy prosecutor to call Scott a liar. Navy officials later informed Scott through his lawyer that he may face perjury charges if he lied to investigators or during his testimony.

Gallagher's defense team presented two witnesses, Marine Staff Sgt. Giorgio Kirylo and Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abbas al-Jubouri, who both denied seeing Gallagher stab the teenager at all. Gallagher's spotter, Special Operator 1st Class Joshua Graffam, testified that he and Gallagher both believed the elderly man Gallagher shot was actually an ISIS operative between the ages of 40 and 50.

Parlatore and lead prosecutor Cmdr. Jeff Pietrzyk summed up the testimony in their closing arguments on Monday.

Pietrzyk admitted that before being injured, the fighter "would have done anything in his power to kill an American." But he noted that after his capture, the teen was no longer a lawful target.

"We're not ISIS. When we capture someone and they're out of the fight, that's it. That's where the line is drawn," Pietrzyk said.

Lead defense attorney Tim Parlatore reiterated his claim that the SEALs who made accusations against Gallagher were nothing more than disgruntled subordinates who were upset with Gallagher's tough leadership style.

"This case is not about murder, it's about mutiny," Parlatore said.

With a verdict of not guilty, Gallagher will no longer need a pardon from Trump, who had previously stated he would wait until the trials were over in the cases the White House was reviewing before rendering a decision. With Gallagher's case over, attention will likely turn to the case of Army. Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who plead not guilty last week to a charge of premeditated murder for the killing of a suspected Taliban bomb-maker.

SEE ALSO: Trump tells US troops 'this is not a political speech' and immediately makes a political statement in speech

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The world's tallest mountains like Mount Everest and K2 have a 'death zone' — here's a first-hand account of what it's like

• Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens, who resigned in disgrace as governor of Missouri last year, is putting his uniform back on — just not as a Navy SEAL.
• The former governor had reportedly told his friends and supporters that he expects to deploy to the Middle East this fall, but it is unclear as of Thursday whether he is actually heading downrange.
• Greitens resigned as Missouri's governor amid allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman and threatened to release a nude photo he took of her in order to keep her silent.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories. 

Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens, who resigned in disgrace as governor of Missouri last year, is putting his uniform back on — just not as a Navy SEAL.

Greitens, who stepped down in May 2018 amid criminal charges related to an alleged extramarital affair, has become a reserve naval officer with Navy Operational Support Center — St. Louis, a spokeswoman for Navy Recruiting Command confirmed to Task & Purpose. The Kansas City Star first reported the news.

"In April 2019, Eric Greitens, a [lieutenant commander] in the Individual Ready Reserve, requested to transfer his status to the Selected Reserves as a general unrestricted line officer (designator 1105) and his transfer was approved," Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jessica McNulty said in an email.

McNulty declined to comment on why the Navy allowed him to transfer to the Selected Reserves.

The former governor had reportedly told his friends and supporters that he expects to deploy to the Middle East this fall, but it is unclear as of Thursday whether he is actually heading downrange.

"I cannot confirm that he has orders," Cmdr. Doug Gabos, a spokesman for Navy Reserve Force, told Task & Purpose.

Gabos also could not say what Greitens' current role is at Navy Operational Support Center – St. Louis, other than he is administratively assigned there.

Attempts to reach Greitens on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Greitens resigned as Missouri's governor amid allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman and threatened to release a nude photo he took of her in order to keep her silent.

A charge of invasion of privacy stemming from the incident and a separate charge of felony computer-tampering for allegedly stealing the donor list of a charity to which he belonged were both eventually dropped.

News about Greitens returning to the Navy comes amid a slew of revelations about how poorly women in general and female sailors in particular are treated by their male counterparts.

Command Master Chief Jonas Doyle Carter resigned after telling sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman to "clap like we're in a strip club" during Vice President Mike Pence's April 30 visit to the ship.

The Navy also launched an investigation after a female Marine found a hidden camera in one of the women's restrooms aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Arlington.

And male sailors aboard the submarine USS Florida compiled a "rape list" of their female counterparts, Military.com reporter Gina Harkins first reported.

"The Navy had a choice whether to allow an accused sex offender and disgraced former politician to join the fleet," said retired Air Force Col. Don Christensen, president of the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders. "Allowing him to return to the active Navy sends a disturbing message that the Navy does not believe survivors."

"This is especially repulsive on the heels of the dramatic increase in military sexual assaults last year," Christensen added. "From Tailhook to Fat Leonard to the recent submarine 'rape list' the Navy has repeatedly proven it just doesn't get it."

More from Task & Purpose:

• Shanahan to Naval Academy graduates: learn to embrace failure like samurai and Silicon Valley
• A sprawling new survey says a 'culture of resilience' helped US military families weather housing woes for years
• Decorated Vietnam vet presents Purple Heart and Bronze Star to family of slain UNC Charlotte shooting hero

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack and Flickr, says 2 beliefs have brought him the greatest success in life

• California Rep. Duncan Hunter said over the weekend he was also "guilty" of taking photos with dead bodies while he was serving as a Marine.
• Hunter's comments came in reference ot the case of Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who faces trial on war-crimes charges.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

Marine veteran turned congressman Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) made an unusual admission during a town hall meeting over the weekend: He'd absolutely taken a photo of himself with the body of a dead enemy combatant while deployed overseas potentially in violation of the Pentagon's rules.

Speaking during a meeting on border issues in the southern California town of Ramona on Saturday, Hunter was commenting on the case of Naval Special Warfare Chief Edward "Eddie" Gallagher, the Navy SEAL accused of war crimes that include snapping photos with the body of a captured ISIS fighter after allegedly stabbing him to death with a hunting knife.

Gallagher "did one bad thing that I'm guilty of, too — taking a picture of the body and saying something stupid," Hunter said, adding that he had taken photos "just like that when I was overseas,"according to the Times of San Diego.

As Task & Purpose previously reported, Gallagher allegedly posed next to the body of a 15-year-old ISIS fighter before carrying out his reenlistment ceremony, texting a photo of himself cradling the dead fighter's head in one hand and boasting that he "got him with my hunting knife."

As the Washington Post notes, posing next to the body of a dead combatant runs counter to the Pentagon's Law of War Manual, which stipulates that "the handling and burial of enemy military dead must be discharged with the same respect as would be afforded to, or expected for, friendly military dead."

But it's worth noting that the Navy judge presiding over the Gallagher case ruled in February that taking photographs of or conducting a reenlistment ceremony over an enemy corpse doesn't rise to the level of "prohibited acts" under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

"The judge is saying that two of the specs under charge 3, the [Article] 134 violation, did not rise to the level of war crimes," Navy spokesman Brian O'Rourke told Task & Purpose at the time. "The judge said 'these are in extremely bad taste, and you should have known better.'"

Lt. Jacob Portier, who faces charges of dereliction of duty amid claims that he covered up Gallagher's alleged crimes, reportedly told his superior officer the same thing, according to documents obtained by Navy Times: "It was just in poor taste."

Gallagher's case reached the pubic eye after the New York Times reported in mid-May that President Donald Trump was considering a presidential pardon not just for Gallagher, but two other U.S. service members accused of war crimes.

Hunter, who was indicted last year for bogarting upwards of $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use, has strongly advocated for a pardon for Gallagher since the Navy initiated proceedings against Gallagher.

SEE ALSO: California Republican Congressman indicted on corruption charges vows to ask Trump to pardon Navy SEAL accused of war crimes

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs debunk 5 misconceptions about good leaders in the military and the workplace

• After two weeks of testimony, the jury in the trial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher have gone into deliberations.
• The jury will decide whether to convict Gallagher on charges including premeditated murder, attempted premeditated murder, and obstruction of justice. At least five of the seven jurors are needed to convict.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO — The military judge in the war crimes trial of Navy Chief Eddie Gallagher said that some witnesses offered "inconsistent" testimony, but it was solely up to the jury to "determine the believability" as they deliberate over whether the veteran SEAL murdered a wounded ISIS fighter or shot at innocent civilians in Iraq in 2017.

Both sides in the case presented their closing arguments before a jury of five Marines and two sailors on Monday. They will now decide Gallagher's fate after nearly two weeks of testimony.

Prosecutors painted a picture of a man, proud of his kill, who sent a "trophy photo" of the murdered detainee to friends, while the defense argued that the government and NCIS agents had a "target fixation" on Gallagher that led them to not ask important questions or consider alternatives.

"There are huge gaping holes of reasonable doubt," defense attorney Tim Parlatore said.

Before he spoke, Cmdr. Jeffrey Pietrzyk put up a slide on the screen behind him with a text Gallagher had sent to a friend: "Good story behind this. Got him with my hunting knife," Gallagher texted, along with a picture of himself holding a knife next to the ISIS fighter's head.

"Those are his words," Pietrzyk said. The prosecutor added that numerous SEALs had reported him — "his SEALs," he said, pointing at Gallagher — and the jury had photos and video evidence, along with the chief's own words, written in private text messages.

"We know [of the stabbing] because Chief Gallagher said so," Pietrzyk said. "Got him with my hunting knife."

Pietrzyk acknowledged that a wounded ISIS fighter wouldn't get much sympathy from the jury or anyone else. "I'm not going to argue to you that this was a particularly sympathetic victim," he said. Before he was hit by a US air strike, Pietrzyk said, "he would've done anything in his power to kill Americans."

But, Pietrzyk said, he was no longer fighting, and receiving medical care. "At that point, he was no longer a lawful target," he said. "We're not ISIS. We we capture someone they're out of the fight. That's it."

In laying out the government's case, Pietrzyk mentioned other SEALs had testified that Gallagher had fired on innocent civilians from a sniper tower. He went on to say that Gallagher had tried to obstruct justice and retaliate against those who reported on him by threatening that he "had shit on all of them."

Some of the witnesses in the case had "straight out lied to you," Pietryzk told the jury, while some had told partial truths and others had risked it all and told them everything.

"Did they choose the truth, or did they choose loyalty to Chief Gallagher?" Pietryzk asked, then putting up the picture of Gallagher posing with the dead ISIS fighter.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These are worth one: Guilty, of all specifications and charges."

The closing from the defense side started off much like its opening statement, with defense attorney Tim Parlatore asserting that "this case is not about a murder. It's about a mutiny."

Parlatore said it was only a few "young entitled" members of the SEAL platoon who hated Gallagher that reported him for war crimes. Parlatore said those SEALs had taken part in a mutiny and conspired in a text message "sewing circle" to get back at him for stealing items from them and putting them at unnecessary risk on the battlefield.

"When the chief pushed them, they didn't like it," Parlatore said.

Gallagher is charged with two counts of attempted premeditated murder in separate incidents of using a sniper rifle to target noncombatants.

Of the first, involving an old man, Parlatore said there was "no credible evidence" the killing was unlawful, since government witnesses testified they had fired warning shots without telling Gallagher, who then fired and said over the radio, "you guys missed him, but I got him."

The second alleged shooting, of a young girl which only one SEAL witnessed, Parlatore speculated that a girl weighing between 80 to 90 pounds being shot by a .300 Win Mag round would've done far more damage. Special Operator 1st Class Joshua Vriens said he noticed the girl clutched her stomach and was dragged away by others.

"It doesn't make any sense," Parlatore said. "These charges should never have been presented to you."

Parlatore also argued that if Gallagher had indeed stabbed the ISIS fighter in the neck, there would've been blood everywhere, to include on his hands, uniform, boots, and the knife.

"Stabbing somebody in the neck is a very messy endeavor," Parlatore said. "The terrorist did die but Eddie Gallagher did not kill him."

Defense attorney Marc Mukasey took the second half of the closing argument, attacking the investigation itself and the actions of the lead agent, Joseph Warpinski. As Mukasey mentioned, Warpinski admitted in testimony that he had made mistakes.

"In a case this serious, when someone's life is on the line," Mukasey said. "You can't tolerate mistakes."

Mukasey reiterated the judge's instructions to the jury — that the government had the burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, but they had failed.

"They have failed in an epic way to prove the cause of death, forget Chief Gallagher," Mukasey said, as a slide appeared on screen showing other possibilities: Hellfire missiles, blast lung, internal injuries, and treatment from the Iraqi Emergency Response Division.

"Reasonable alternatives offer reasonable doubt," Mukasey said. He told the jury they were the "guardians of justice" and asked them to "deliver the verdict that gives Chief Gallagher his liberty."

The jury began deliberation on Monday afternoon. They'll decide whether to convict Gallagher on charges of premeditated murder, attempted premeditated murder, obstruction of justice, and others. At least five, or two-thirds of the jury, are needed to convict.

SEE ALSO: After a shocking turn in a SEAL's war crimes trial, Navy prosecutors weigh perjury charges against their own witness

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs explain the dangers of overplanning in both the military and business

• US Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher has been found not guilty of murder and attempted murder by a jury.
• The verdict was reached by the five Marines and two sailors on Tuesday after the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments the day before.
• Gallagher, 40, was accused of stabbing an injured teenage ISIS fighter to death and of shooting at civilians during a deployment to Iraq in 2017.
• Seven members of Gallagher's own platoon leveled the accusations against him, describing him as a reckless murderer who failed to distinguish between civilians and the enemy.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The jury assigned to the case of accused Special Warfare Chief Edward Gallagher has found the decorated Navy SEAL not guilty of murder and attempted murder after a whirlwind trial that included bombshell revelations and twists.

The verdict was reached by the five Marines and two sailors on Tuesday after the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments the day before.

Gallagher, 40, was accused of stabbing an injured teenage ISIS fighter to death and of shooting at civilians during a deployment to Iraq in 2017. Seven members of Gallagher's own platoon leveled the accusations against him, describing him as a reckless murderer who failed to distinguish between civilians and the enemy.

The accusers communicated through a WhatsApp group called "The Sewing Circle," a seemingly innocuous name for a group dedicated to discussing the alleged war crimes of a decorated sniper and medic. These discussions would be the basis on which Navy prosecutors would bring charges against Gallagher.

Read more: Trump tells US troops 'this is not a political speech' and immediately makes a political statement in speech

The case received national attention after a searing New York Times report detailed Gallagher's gory accusations, including the stabbing of an injured teenage ISIS fighter and shooting an elderly man and a young girl. The report claimed the accusers were told to keep quiet about Gallagher's actions, or risk losing their tridents -- the coveted badge identifying a sailor as a Navy SEAL.

Gallagher's case drew further attention in May when it was reported that he was one of several accused troops being considered for a pardon from President Trump. The news sharply divided the military community, and even the Navy SEALs themselves. The SEAL community is known for being especially close knit, but the Gallagher case created a clear division between old-school defenders and younger skeptics.

"When I heard about it first, I said, 'That's impossible, it's outright stupid. It's going to go away.' Well, it didn't," Thomas "Drago" Dzieran, a former Navy SEAL, told the Washington Examiner in May.

"I said, I cannot sit on the sidelines, I need to take [a stand] and bring it up. What they do is not right."

Retired Adm. William McRaven, a legend within the SEAL community who helped plan the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, weighed in saying he was concerned Trump's potential pardon may have exercised undue command influence over the trial's proceedings.

Gallagher's case took a dramatic turn before the trial even started when it was revealed in May that prosecutors had embedded email tracking software in their correspondence with Gallagher's defense team. The revelation outraged lead defense attorney Timothy Parlatore, who told the Washington Examiner he would be filing an ethics complaint against lead Navy prosecutor Cmdr. Chris Czaplak.

Navy Capt. Aaron Rugh, the judge overseeing the case, would ultimately dismiss Czaplak over the revelations and released Gallagher from pre-trial custody. He also lowered Gallagher's maximum possible sentence to life with the possibility of parole. Motions to dismiss the trial were denied.

The trial started on June 17, with the prosecution presenting two witnesses who claimed they had witnessed Gallagher stab the injured teenager. Prosecutors showed the court pictures Gallagher had taken with the teen's corpse. They said the chief bragged about the kill to fellow SEALs back home in text messages.

"Good story behind this. Got him with my hunting knife," read one text Gallagher sent.

The testimony against Gallagher appeared damning, but the case took an unexpected turn when Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Corey Scott admitted it was he -- not Gallagher -- that was responsible for the death of the injured teenage fighter. Scott admitted to seeing Gallagher stab the teen, but said he asphyxiated him in an effort to save him from his Iraqi captors, who he had seen torture, rape, and kill other prisoners.

"I knew he was going to die anyway," said Scott, a trained combat medic. "I wanted to save him from waking up to what had happened next."

The shocking revelation caused a flustered Navy prosecutor to call Scott a liar. Navy officials later informed Scott through his lawyer that he may face perjury charges if he lied to investigators or during his testimony.

Gallagher's defense team presented two witnesses, Marine Staff Sgt. Giorgio Kirylo and Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abbas al-Jubouri, who both denied seeing Gallagher stab the teenager at all. Gallagher's spotter, Special Operator 1st Class Joshua Graffam, testified that he and Gallagher both believed the elderly man Gallagher shot was actually an ISIS operative between the ages of 40 and 50.

Parlatore and lead prosecutor Cmdr. Jeff Pietrzyk summed up the testimony in their closing arguments on Monday.

Pietrzyk admitted that before being injured, the fighter "would have done anything in his power to kill an American." But he noted that after his capture, the teen was no longer a lawful target.

"We're not ISIS. When we capture someone and they're out of the fight, that's it. That's where the line is drawn," Pietrzyk said.

Lead defense attorney Tim Parlatore reiterated his claim that the SEALs who made accusations against Gallagher were nothing more than disgruntled subordinates who were upset with Gallagher's tough leadership style.

"This case is not about murder, it's about mutiny," Parlatore said.

With a verdict of not guilty, Gallagher will no longer need a pardon from Trump, who had previously stated he would wait until the trials were over in the cases the White House was reviewing before rendering a decision. With Gallagher's case over, attention will likely turn to the case of Army. Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who plead not guilty last week to a charge of premeditated murder for the killing of a suspected Taliban bomb-maker.

SEE ALSO: Trump tells US troops 'this is not a political speech' and immediately makes a political statement in speech

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The world's tallest mountains like Mount Everest and K2 have a 'death zone' — here's a first-hand account of what it's like

• Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was found not guilty of murder on Tuesday, thanked President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning for intervening on his behalf.
• The president tweeted a few hours later that he was glad he was able to help, a statement Gallagher's attorney said was referring to the president's order to ease the restrictions on Gallagher's pretrial confinement.
• While Gallagher was acquitted of more serious crimes, he was, however, found guilty of posing for photos with a dead prisoner of war, an offense that will cost him his rank but that almost certainly will not include jail time.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump congratulated Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher in a tweet Wednesday after the special operator was cleared of murder but found guilty of posing for photos with a dead prisoner of war.

Without any physical evidence, the prosecution built its case for murder around testimony and photos Gallagher took with a captured 17-year-old militant who died after being captured. One such photo was sent to a friend with the caption: "Good story behind this one. Got him with my hunting knife."

A court-martial jury cleared him of almost all charges Tuesday after the prosecution failed to make its case.

The SEAL faces a maximum penalty of only four months imprisonment for the photo offense, a much lighter punishment than the life sentence he was facing for more serious allegations, which included stabbing a captured teenage militant to death and shooting civilians with a sniper rifle while he was deployed to Iraq in 2017.

Read more: US Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher found not guilty of war crimes in military trial

Any time in incarceration would most likely be written off as time served, as Gallagher spent the better part of a year in pretrial confinement. The 40-year-old SEAL will, regardless of the final sentencing, be retiring at a lower rank.

The SEAL thanked Trump in an interview on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday "for intervening when he did." The president replied not long after.

"Congratulations to Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, his wonderful wife Andrea, and his entire family," Trump tweeted. "You have been through much together. Glad I could help!"

Trump did intervene in the case in March. Gallagher's defense attorney told Business Insider that the president's decision to get involved and ease Gallagher's pretrial confinement "made all the difference in the world."

Gallagher was arrested in September over allegations of intimidating witnesses and obstruction of justice, and he was detained at San Diego's Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar. He was officially charged with premeditated murder, among other crimes, in January.

In late March, he was moved from the brig at Miramar to a facility at Balboa Naval Medical Center after a tweet by Trump.

Read more: Trump says Navy SEAL accused of a brutal killing to be moved 'to less restrictive confinement'

Tim Parlatore, the lead attorney on Gallagher's defense team, told INSIDER that the president's decision to ease the restrictions on Gallagher's pretrial confinement, which the defense repeatedly argued infringed on his constitutional rights, allowed him to better prepare for the trial with his defense team.

"By releasing him, where he should have never been in the first place, the president gave him the opportunity to meaningfully participate in his own defense," Parlatore said. "No question the president's decision made a big difference. We are very grateful."

"I want to say I feel completely grateful and blessed to have the support that I had this whole time from the country and from all the troops," Gallagher told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday morning.

"I believe they tried to frame me as a criminal from the get-go, but, you know, we knew the truth the whole time. We knew I was innocent of these charges the whole time and I overcame it by having my strong wife with me the whole time and my legal team."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The incredible story behind Slack, the app that's taken over offices everywhere

• Navy SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher was found not guilty of murder and obstruction of justice charges by a military jury this week.
• Gallagher was found guilty of posing with a human casualty, and the jury sentenced him to a reduction in rank along with four months of confinement and forfeiture of pay.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A military jury sentenced Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher to a reduction in rank to E-6, along with four months confinement and forfeiture of pay on Wednesday.

Gallagher, 40, was found not guilty of premeditated murder over an alleged stabbing of a wounded ISIS fighter in Mosul in 2017. He was also acquitted of charges related to obstruction of justice and attempted premeditated murder over alleged unlawful sniper shots taken at an old man and a young girl.

The jury found him guilty on only one charge on Tuesday: unlawfully posing for a picture with a human casualty. Prosecutors showed two photos of Gallagher posing with a body throughout his trial. Other SEALs, including some witnesses who testified against him, were also in the photos.

One photo frequently shown during the trial showed Gallagher, wearing a ball cap, kneeling next to the deceased ISIS fighter while holding his knife as three other SEALs are seen standing behind him. Another showed Gallagher similarly posing with nearly a dozen other members of SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon posing for the shot.

Gallagher served about eight months in confinement prior to going to trial, so his four-month sentence will be chalked up to time served. Two months of the pay forfeiture were suspended due to pretrial restrictions, according to Andrew Dyer of San Diego Union-Tribune.

His defense attorney Tim Parlatore told Task & Purpose on Wednesday that Gallagher is about two weeks away from being eligible for retirement, and will likely separate from the Navy; now, it will be as a Petty Officer 1st Class.

The sentence is not yet final.

It now goes to the convening authority, who can decide to accept or reject the sentence. Parlatore told Task & Purpose he plans to ask the convening authority for clemency and request that he drop the photo charge that Gallagher was convicted on.

President Donald Trump has also reportedly considered pardoning Gallagher.

SEE ALSO: US Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher found not guilty of war crimes in military trial

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NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs explain the dangers of overplanning in both the military and business

• Lawyers for Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher have filed a motion to dismiss the prosecutor in Gallagher's war-crimes trial and to review the judge.
• "This case has been hopelessly plagued by misconduct by prosecutors," reads the motion, which was filed on Monday.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

Defense attorneys for a high-profile court-martial of a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes filed a motion to dismiss the lead prosecutor and possibly relieve the military judge overseeing the case Monday, citing concerns that the judge may have improperly overseen the surveillance of the SEAL's defense team by prosecutors.

In addition to the dismissal of the lead prosecutor, the defense team is seeking a preliminary examination of the judge to understand "whether he knowingly authorized this investigation ... whether he chose to remain willfully ignorant of the facts, or whether he was misled" by the lead prosecutor and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, according to court documents obtained by Navy Times.

Attorneys for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, 39, who is accused of murdering an injured teenage ISIS fighter in Iraq in 2017, said that lead prosecutor Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak and a NCIS agent met with Navy Judge Capt. Aaron Rugh on May 8 to explain that NCIS was investigating leaks pertaining to the case to unauthorized parties, including the media.

"This case has been hopelessly plagued by misconduct by prosecutors," the motion filed Monday reads. "This misconduct has taken many forms but has culminated in the inexcusable and unethical use of an email tracking beacon to monitor the emails of opposing counsel in direct contravention of multiple states' ethics opinions, including CDR Czaplak's licensing state of New York."

Gallagher's defense attorney, Tim Parlatore, is seeking to recuse the lead prosecutor, and possibly others if warranted, after emails distributed to 13 lawyers and paralegals on their team — as well as one to the editor of Navy Times— were discovered to contain a hidden electronic tracking device capable of revealing the location of the user, how long a user spent on a web page, what browser was being used and other information.

In the motion filed Monday, the defense counsel said it first believed that the court had overseen and directed the tracking of the defense counsel. However documents released to the defense counsel on May 20 paint a different story, one in which the court may have been left in the dark about the true nature of what NCIS and the lead prosecutor intended to do.

"We do not have all of the information necessary to determine to what extent the Military Judge in this case has specifically acted that would compel his disqualification," the defense counsel wrote in the motion. "Based on current information and belief, the Military Judge's actions of in this case, at the very least, objectively call his impartiality into question."

Navy Region Southwest spokesman Brian O'Rourke declined to comment. The judge's summary of the May 8 meeting stated that NCIS intended to embed code within a 2-page document and to email it to the defense team and post it in various government-access-only locations.

The judge's summary does not indicate who the intended target of the surveillance technique was supposed to be. However, the defense counsel said that the document was specifically targeted at the defense counsel. The "bait" document was entitled "Gallagher-Brady Giglio Notice," and purported to contain exculpatory evidence that could enhance the defense's case.

"Based on the titles and contents of these 'bait' documents, it is clear that this investigation was unfairly focused primarily on members of the defense team," the motion reads. "It is unclear whether the Military Judge asked for more details about the 2-page document, or if he went so far as to make a recommendation to CDR Czaplak and Mr. Evans [NCIS agent] as to what the 2-page document should purport to be."

The defense counsel said it was also unsure whether the judge understood what the investigation he was signing off on was actually able to do.

After a May 22 hearing on the issue, the defense counsel said that the judge "did not seem to understand the purpose or function of the IP addresses, how they would actually be collected, or how the entire investigation or 'method' would be conducted."

"If the Military Judge authorized an investigation with such little knowledge, that is, at the very least, quite unnerving," the motion reads.

The defense counsel also filed a motion to disqualify lead prosecutor Czaplak over the allegation that he overstepped his role as an attorney and assumed one as an investigator by personally sending the email with the imbedded code to the entire defense trial team and various other individuals.

"In truth, it appears that CDR Czaplak had a greater role in the investigation than he wanted the Military Judge to believe, or that the Military Judge knew that CDR Czaplak was involved, but declined to state as much," the motion reads.

Although the motion focused on Czaplak, the defense counsel also wrote that the court should conduct a fact-finding hearing to determine whether his co-counsel should be disqualified as well.

As it stands, Gallagher is slated to begin a court-martial beginning on June 10 at Naval Base San Diego, where he faces charges of premeditated murder of the ISIS teenager and a pair of shootings tied to the alleged deaths of an elderly man and a young girl — accusations he denies and insists they were made to frame him.

The defense team also filed a motion Sunday asking the military judge to dismiss all charges against Gallagher, alleging other instances of misconduct committed by prosecutors and NCIS agents, including knowingly hiding or misrepresenting key facts in the court-martial case that could exonerate Gallagher.

Much of the evidence justifying the motion to dismiss the case was provided to Navy Times, including video footage of the alleged murder scene.

SEE ALSO: Rep. Duncan Hunter: Navy SEAL accused of war crimes 'did one bad thing that I'm guilty of, too'

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NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs debunk 5 misconceptions about good leaders in the military and the workplace

• US Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL facing a murder trial in the death of an Islamic State prisoner, was freed from custody after a military judge cited interference by prosecutors.
• Gallagher pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of an injured teenage militant in Iraq in 2017 and to attempted murder over accusations he shot at civilians from a sniper's perch.
• The judge has not ruled on whether to throw out the case or remove prosecutors over their tracking emails, which were sent to defense lawyers and a journalist in an effort to find the source of news leaks.
• The judge said freeing Gallagher would be a remedy for interference by prosecutors.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SAN DIEGO — A decorated Navy SEAL facing a murder trial in the death of an Islamic State prisoner was freed Thursday from custody after a military judge cited interference by prosecutors.

The unexpected move drew gasps from those at a hearing in a San Diego courtroom in which lawyers for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher sought to get the case dismissed on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.

Gallagher's wife, Andrea, who has led a campaign to free her husband, put her head in her hands and burst into tears.

The judge, Capt. Aaron Rugh, has not ruled on whether to throw out the case or remove prosecutors over tracking emails sent to defense lawyers and a journalist in an effort to find the source of news leaks in the politically charged case. He said freeing Gallagher at this point would be a remedy for interference by prosecutors.

Attorney Tim Parlatore accused prosecutors of a "rogue, relentless, and unlawful cybercampaign" that may have violated attorney-client privilege and hurt Gallagher's ability to get a fair trial.

Efforts to get the case thrown out come as President Donald Trump considers pardoning several service members accused of war crimes, including Gallagher. Gallagher faces trial June 10.

Trump previously got Gallagher removed from the brig and transferred to better custody conditions at a Navy hospital.

During the hearing Thursday, Rugh indicated he was kept in the dark by prosecutors about the email monitoring.

Read more: Trump has the ultimate authority to pardon a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes, but that doesn't mean the military community isn't deeply divided

Rugh said prosecutors had told him privately they planned to embed code in what he believed to be a court document to help them find the source of leaks. But he said he didn't have the power to authorize such an investigative tool and wasn't told they planned to plant the code in emails to defense lawyers or a journalist.

Rugh said he thought prosecutors were coordinating the investigation with the US attorney's office in San Diego. Rugh said he wasn't aware that a federal prosecutor told the military prosecutor to make sure they had the judge's approval before launching the tracking effort.

Parlatore withdrew his motion to have the judge removed from the case after learning he had not authorized the scheme.

The lead prosecutor downplayed the move at a related hearing earlier in the day. Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak said the code recorded nothing more than where and when email messages were opened by recipients, who included a journalist for the Navy Times.

Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of an injured teenage militant in Iraq in 2017 and to attempted murder over accusations he picked off civilians from a sniper's perch.

His platoon supervisor, Lt. Jacob Portier, is fighting charges of conduct unbecoming an officer over accusations he conducted Gallagher's reenlistment ceremony next to the militant's corpse.

Jeremiah J. Sullivan III, a defense lawyer who represents Portier, said there was no probable cause for the tracking effort, which was discovered in an unusual logo of an American flag with a bald eagle perched on the scales of justice beneath Czaplak's signature.

Czaplak said the tracking ended May 10 after he was confronted by defense lawyers and acknowledged the effort in a closed-door hearing. He disclosed no other details at the time.

On Thursday, Czaplak said the emails contained code similar to what marketers use to see when an email is opened and what device was used to open it.

"It's still a web bug and it's still unethical," Sullivan said.

The judge in Portier's case, Capt. Jonathan Stephens, said from what he had seen the tracking effort wasn't able to view the contents of any emails.

Several experts testified that the code embedded in a signature line in the emails collected information on internet-protocol addresses and could tell what web browser was being used and the duration it was open and could see whether the message had been forwarded. But the information couldn't generally be used to identify a specific person or capture content.

Josiah Roloff, a data forensics examiner from Spokane, Washington, said the code was typically used by marketing companies and he'd seen it used in undercover investigations. But he said he'd never seen it used to target defense lawyers.

___

Melley reported from Los Angeles.

SEE ALSO: Trump has the ultimate authority to pardon a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes, but that doesn't mean the military community isn't deeply divided

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• Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was found not guilty of murder on Tuesday, thanked President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning for intervening on his behalf.
• The president tweeted a few hours later that he was glad he was able to help, a statement Gallagher's attorney said was referring to the president's order to ease the restrictions on Gallagher's pretrial confinement.
• While Gallagher was acquitted of more serious crimes, he was, however, found guilty of posing for photos with a dead prisoner of war, an offense that will cost him his rank but that almost certainly will not include jail time.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump congratulated Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher in a tweet Wednesday after the special operator was cleared of murder but found guilty of posing for photos with a dead prisoner of war.

Without any physical evidence, the prosecution built its case for murder around testimony and photos Gallagher took with a captured 17-year-old militant who died after being captured. One such photo was sent to a friend with the caption: "Good story behind this one. Got him with my hunting knife."

A court-martial jury cleared him of almost all charges Tuesday after the prosecution failed to make its case.

The SEAL faces a maximum penalty of only four months imprisonment for the photo offense, a much lighter punishment than the life sentence he was facing for more serious allegations, which included stabbing a captured teenage militant to death and shooting civilians with a sniper rifle while he was deployed to Iraq in 2017.

Read more: US Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher found not guilty of war crimes in military trial

Any time in incarceration would most likely be written off as time served, as Gallagher spent the better part of a year in pretrial confinement. The 40-year-old SEAL will, regardless of the final sentencing, be retiring at a lower rank.

The SEAL thanked Trump in an interview on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday "for intervening when he did." The president replied not long after.

"Congratulations to Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, his wonderful wife Andrea, and his entire family," Trump tweeted. "You have been through much together. Glad I could help!"

Trump did intervene in the case in March. Gallagher's defense attorney told Business Insider that the president's decision to get involved and ease Gallagher's pretrial confinement "made all the difference in the world."

Gallagher was arrested in September over allegations of intimidating witnesses and obstruction of justice, and he was detained at San Diego's Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar. He was officially charged with premeditated murder, among other crimes, in January.

In late March, he was moved from the brig at Miramar to a facility at Balboa Naval Medical Center after a tweet by Trump.

Read more: Trump says Navy SEAL accused of a brutal killing to be moved 'to less restrictive confinement'

Tim Parlatore, the lead attorney on Gallagher's defense team, told INSIDER that the president's decision to ease the restrictions on Gallagher's pretrial confinement, which the defense repeatedly argued infringed on his constitutional rights, allowed him to better prepare for the trial with his defense team.

"By releasing him, where he should have never been in the first place, the president gave him the opportunity to meaningfully participate in his own defense," Parlatore said. "No question the president's decision made a big difference. We are very grateful."

"I want to say I feel completely grateful and blessed to have the support that I had this whole time from the country and from all the troops," Gallagher told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday morning.

"I believe they tried to frame me as a criminal from the get-go, but, you know, we knew the truth the whole time. We knew I was innocent of these charges the whole time and I overcame it by having my strong wife with me the whole time and my legal team."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The incredible story behind Slack, the app that's taken over offices everywhere

• Navy SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher was found not guilty of murder and obstruction of justice charges by a military jury this week.
• Gallagher was found guilty of posing with a human casualty, and the jury sentenced him to a reduction in rank along with four months of confinement and forfeiture of pay.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A military jury sentenced Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher to a reduction in rank to E-6, along with four months confinement and forfeiture of pay on Wednesday.

Gallagher, 40, was found not guilty of premeditated murder over an alleged stabbing of a wounded ISIS fighter in Mosul in 2017. He was also acquitted of charges related to obstruction of justice and attempted premeditated murder over alleged unlawful sniper shots taken at an old man and a young girl.

The jury found him guilty on only one charge on Tuesday: unlawfully posing for a picture with a human casualty. Prosecutors showed two photos of Gallagher posing with a body throughout his trial. Other SEALs, including some witnesses who testified against him, were also in the photos.

One photo frequently shown during the trial showed Gallagher, wearing a ball cap, kneeling next to the deceased ISIS fighter while holding his knife as three other SEALs are seen standing behind him. Another showed Gallagher similarly posing with nearly a dozen other members of SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon posing for the shot.

Gallagher served about eight months in confinement prior to going to trial, so his four-month sentence will be chalked up to time served. Two months of the pay forfeiture were suspended due to pretrial restrictions, according to Andrew Dyer of San Diego Union-Tribune.

His defense attorney Tim Parlatore told Task & Purpose on Wednesday that Gallagher is about two weeks away from being eligible for retirement, and will likely separate from the Navy; now, it will be as a Petty Officer 1st Class.

The sentence is not yet final.

It now goes to the convening authority, who can decide to accept or reject the sentence. Parlatore told Task & Purpose he plans to ask the convening authority for clemency and request that he drop the photo charge that Gallagher was convicted on.

President Donald Trump has also reportedly considered pardoning Gallagher.

SEE ALSO: US Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher found not guilty of war crimes in military trial

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NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs explain the dangers of overplanning in both the military and business

• Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher was acquitted of war-crimes charges last week, and even though he plans to leave the Navy he's likely to have a number of other opportunities.
• There's already a documentary in the works, and he could write about his time in the Navy or become a cable-news analyst.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Special Warfare Chief Edward Gallagher has not announced any plans after being acquitted of war crimes charges, but fellow Navy SEALs say he'll have no problem embarking on a new career.

A jury last week found Gallagher, 40, not guilty on six of seven counts, including murder and attempted murder, relating to his Iraq deployment in 2017. Platoon members accused him of stabbing an injured teenaged ISIS fighter to death and shooting at civilians.

He was found guilty only of unlawfully taking a picture with the corpse of the fighter, for which he received a sentence of four months imprisonment, a reduction in rank from E-7 to E-6, and an order to repay $2,697 per month for two months. Gallagher's nine months of pretrial confinement count toward his sentence, meaning he will not spend any more time in jail.

Gallagher is about a year shy of the 20 years needed for full retirement. His wife has indicated he plans to leave the Navy, though she didn't say when. Former SEALs don't expect his conviction on one count to hurt his prospects outside the service.

Thomas "Drago" Dzieran wants Gallagher to use the experience of being put on trial for war crimes to tell a cautionary tale.

Dzieran, a 20-year veteran of the SEALs who has been one of Gallagher's staunchest supporters, said he does not know Gallagher's plans but hopes the decorated chief gets the opportunity to share his side of the story.

"I hope he will write a book as a warning for the future generations," Dzieran told the Washington Examiner. "It can happen to you. And ... things can deteriorate, and you can become public enemy number one just like that."

Before joining the SEALs in 1991, Dzieran was a political prisoner in communist Poland. He said some of the tactics used by investigators against Gallagher reminded him of the oppression he faced before coming to the United States as a political refugee.

When Navy Capt. Aaron Rugh, the judge overseeing the case, learned that prosecutors had embedded email tracking software in their correspondence with Gallagher's defense team, he dismissed lead prosecutor Cmdr. Chris Czaplak and released Gallagher from pretrial custody.

In an interview with Fox News Channel's Pete Hegseth after the acquittal, Gallagher expressed his gratitude to the station and the host. "I want to say thank you to you, Fox News, to you guys, Pete, for being with us from day one," he said on Fox & Friends. "You guys backed us from the beginning."

Many observers have speculated Gallagher could join the network as a military analyst.

Brad Bailey, president of the Navy SEALs Fund, says Gallagher will have all manner of opportunities open to him.

"If Eddie wants to go into private contracting, I think he would probably be pretty well received there," the former SEAL told the Washington Examiner. "But I also think there's a lot of defense businesses out there that Eddie could potentially get into. And there's lots of SEALs that are very successful entrepreneurs. ... He's a really smart guy, really driven. I think he's going to have enough patriots out there that will gainfully employ him."

He's likely to be seen on the screen regardless. A documentary chronicling Gallagher's experience is in the works, a source with knowledge of the production told the Washington Examiner. "Navy SEAL in the Crosshairs" is being produced by Gregg Phillips, founder of Time for a Hero, a nonprofit organization that funds traumatic brain injury treatments for veterans of special operations forces.

SEE ALSO: Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher busted down one rank after being found guilty of posing for photo with ISIS fighter's body

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NOW WATCH: Why you hold your boss accountable, according to a Navy SEAL

• An internal Navy report led to six members of SEAL Team 10 being busted for allegedly abusing cocaine and other illicit substances.
• Several SEALs told investigators they had beaten drug tests by switching tainted urine for clean samples, but they weren't screened very often anyway.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Before they were caught last year, several SEAL Team 10 special warfare operators snorted cocaine or spiked their booze with the banned substance, often defeating military drug tests they termed "a joke," according to an internal investigation obtained by Navy Times.

The Little Creek, Virginia-based command conducted urinalysis testing on April 9 and April 16, 2018, nabbing six SEALs for allegedly abusing cocaine and other banned substances.

Several SEALs told investigators they previously beat the testing program by swapping out tainted urine for clean samples — but they weren't screened very often anyway.

"I never once got piss-tested on deployment or on the road, where I was using most often," one busted SEAL said in a statement. "When I was in Buenaventura, Colombia, I was using cocaine. I think I was the only one of the four SEAL TEAM TEN guys using cocaine there. It was everywhere."

The names and other details involving the SEALs are redacted in the copy of the investigation obtained by Navy Times following a Freedom of Information Act request.

Citing regulations designed to protect sailors from "an unwarranted invasion of ... personal privacy," Naval Special Warfare Command spokeswoman Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence declined to name the SEALs netted during the probe or specify the punitive actions taken against them. But she confirmed that no SEALs went to court-martial in the wake of the urinalysis screening and four were administratively separated from the sea service.

A fifth SEAL "ingested cocaine" at his home on April 15, 2018, and killed himself the following month, investigators wrote.

The sixth SEAL, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Daniel Boggs, confirmed to Navy Times that he tested positive and lost his trident. But records provided by Boggs show an administrative board later cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Boggs, 34, said he was given the option of remaining in the Navy with a different rating, but he plans on exiting the service. He insists that he never intentionally used cocaine and suspects he unwittingly drank from another SEAL's cocktail that was laced with the drug.

At least one SEAL told investigators he would splice his drinks with cocaine while at a popular watering hole.

Boggs echoes other SEALs by saying no one in the team took the urinalysis screening system seriously and that he knew other operators were using drugs. But because he avoided illegal substances, he said he "never had to worry about it."

In the wake of the probe, SEAL Team 10′s superiors at Naval Special Warfare Group 2 updated the urinalysis program, retrained those who administer the tests and hiked the frequency of the screenings, spokeswoman Lawrence said.

"We now test our operators and combat support personnel while in garrison, TDY for training and when deployed," she said.

Lawrence also indicated that the command investigation shouldn't be read as an indictment on the entire special warfare community.

"I will not speculate as to the reasons why these service members made the poor decisions that they did, but I will say that the actions of a few are not reflective of the SEAL code or culture," she said. "We have tightened our processes, we are focused on performance and we are proud of our progress."

In the command report, investigators wrote that they found no evidence that drug use by any of the SEALs led to teammates getting hurt. But one sailor "during Tactical Ground Movement training may have unnecessarily exposed his teammates to greater training risk."

Despite what often are hectic training and deployment cycles, the investigator in the command report insisted that SEALs should never be exempted from urinalysis screening.

"On deployment, no location should be treated as too remote for testing," the officer recommended. "No distance or cost should, by its inconvenience, implicitly sanction unlawful drug use or insulate service members from rigid adherence to Navy standards."

But that was far from the case in mid-2018, according to the investigation. Back then, the testing program "suffered from serious deficiencies, which did not maintain accountability for substance abuse and adversely affected readiness," the report states.

"Failure to conduct the Urinalysis Program in strict compliance with Navy standards, regulations, and guidance proved corrosive to good order and discipline by allowing drug use to continue undeterred and undetected."

One SEAL said the system was "easy to cheat" and so there "was no real reason not to use any substance."

"Most of the time no one had to watch urine leave the hole," a SEAL told investigators. "It was usually a buddy that would just follow you in and let you piss."

Because empty urine bottles were left "everywhere," he'd also sneak one filled with clean urine into the bathroom to swap out the pee. One SEAL said that others stashed clean urine in their gear cages to use if the command popped a surprise test.

Another described a testing system "so relaxed that once an individual saw his name on the urinalysis list, he commonly asked others to urinate for him into a spare bottle, and then set aside the urine in that bottle for later submission as a sample."

One several occasions, another SEAL "simply dunked the specimen bottle into the urinal water and gave that fluid as a urine sample," the report states. "The specimen he provided on 9 April 2018 was entirely composed of urinal water."

Another SEAL "was always worried he would 'piss hot' after a 'big weekend,' but he made no effort to protect against it," the report states.

One SEAL told investigators that he was never forced to buy his cocaine or other drugs because he received them for free "when he is at local bars," the report states. "Random people would offer me cocaine and I would go with them to use drugs," he told investigators.

One SEAL told investigators he used cocaine "while cleaning his gear at his house," according to the investigation.

Another SEAL who confessed to snorting coke in Colombia also admitted to years of drug abuse in the United States. He told investigators that "he 'partied' with five service members from (SEAL Team 10)" during a stint at sniper school in September 2017 and also abused drugs during training for armorers in Indiana.

Back home in Virginia Beach, he'd mix cocaine into his "orange crush" drink while hanging out at The Shack, a local bar popular with SEALs, according to the report.

He described buying two of the cocktails to bring to the tavern's restroom. Once at a stall, he'd dump cocaine into one of the drinks before returning to the bar.

"My normal process was to quickly consume the drink with the cocaine in it, then sip from the other drink so I didn't have to carry two drinks around," the SEAL told investigators. "If there was any ice or anything left in the cup from the Orange Crush with the cocaine, I poured the remainder into the other untouched Orange Crush and sipped from that one until the next round."

The SEAL "stated that he never touched cocaine with his fingers because of its sticky residue" and instead "always used something to scoop the cocaine into his beverages as he stood at the urinal, such as a credit card, or he poured it directly into his 'Orange Crush' from the small plastic bag."

The report indicated that the cocaine "made him very aware of his actions and very interested in conversation with members of the group" and the way he ingested the drug "at the Shack seemed well-rehearsed and calculated."

The SEAL's disciplinary review board record is included in the investigation. The team's command master chief convened the DRB in May 2018, after the SEAL used cocaine shortly before both urinalysis sweeps, according to the hearing's record.

"Member took full responsibility for his actions and openly admits to using cocaine and (ecstasy) numerous times a week for the last three years," it notes.

He also confessed to using cocaine throughout pre-deployment training, except for a land warfare segment at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center in rural western Arkansas.

"Apparently, cocaine is hard to find in (Arkansas)," the board's notes state.

The board recommended he receive non-judicial punishment consisting of reduction in rank and forfeiture of half his pay for two months.

The SEAL's wife left him and took their three kids across the country in February 2018 due to his "continued drug use" but he also entered substance abuse treatment, according to the DRB record.

SEE ALSO: Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher busted down one rank after being found guilty of posing for photo with ISIS fighter's body

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NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs debunk 5 misconceptions about good leaders in the military and the workplace

• The reputation of US Navy SEALs has been tarnished in recent years by numerous scandals involving illicit drugs and assaults.
• There have been criminal investigations and punishment, but SEAL leaders have said there is not "a systemic problem."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SEALs were walking on water as the best military force in the world a decade ago. They killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. They rescued Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates. No one seemed more professional or capable than they were.

The only thing more remarkable about how much esteem the SEALs had is how far they've fallen since then. In the latest disgrace, the special operations commander in Iraq just unceremoniously kicked out a SEAL platoon, "Due to a perceived deterioration of good order and discipline within the team during non-operational periods," US Special Operations Command has announced.

"The Commander lost confidence in the team's ability to accomplish the mission," A SOCOM news release said.

Defense officials are not saying exactly what these special operators did to deserve being sent back to San Diego early, but Navy Times Editor Carl Prine revealed the SEALs allegedly threw an alcohol-soaked July 4th party.

Coincidentally, the SEALs came from the same team as Eddie Gallagher, who was recently found not guilty of murder after being accused of stabbing a wounded ISIS fighter to death in Mosul in 2017, according to San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Andrew Dyer.

Although Gallagher was cleared on the most serious charges, he was found guilty of unlawfully posing with an enemy corpse. Others in the SEAL platoon were also in those photos, and the court-martial subsequently revealed those SEALs constructed a bar at their compound and were regularly drinking alcohol.

Gallagher's commanding officer is scheduled to go to trial in September. If that weren't bad enough, Navy Times reporter Geoff Ziezulewicz recently reported that six members with SEAL Team 10 who used cocaine and other drugs were able to pass their piss tests by replacing their urine for clean samples, according to an internal investigation.

Meanwhile, two SEALs have been implicated in the hazing death of Special Forces Sgt. Logan Melgar in Mali. Navy Special Operations Chief Tony DeDolph is accused of placing Melgar in a chokehold until he asphyxiated. Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Matthews, who pleaded guilty to hazing, assault, and other charges in May, is also under investigation for allegedly trying to flirt with and manipulate Melgar's widow.

But if the first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one, the Navy SEALs have a pretty long way to go before hitting bottom. When asked about the numerous criminal investigations involving SEALs, SOCOM's senior enlisted leader's message was: Remain calm; all is well.

"We do not have a systemic problem," Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Gregory Smith said shortly before news broke that the SEAL platoon was being kicked out of Iraq. "We have a pretty large population of Navy special warfare [operators] and overwhelmingly the vast majority — 99.8% are at the top of the line."

SOCOM understands the leaders are responsible for knowing about and responding to ethical and disciplinary lapses, so the command has "been holding significant leadership accountable," including platoon and section leaders, Smith said.

He was unable to say which leaders he was referring to or what administrative or disciplinary action they have faced.

On the matter of unauthorized punishments, Task & Purpose asked Smith about the prevalence of hazing in the SEAL community.

When he pleaded guilty in the Melgar case, Matthews claimed that he and three other US special operators planned to duct tape Melgar's wrists and ankles because binding people is "a form of remediation" in the special warfare community. (Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe subsequently revealed that Matthews and the others also planned to make a video of a security guard sexually assaulting Melgar.)

Smith disputed Matthews' claim that SEALs and other special operators frequently discipline their own by tying them up with duct tape.

"I have been in this community for 25 of my 30 years and I have never been exposed, seen or heard of binding people up as common practice within our community — and that is within the joint force," Smith said.

SEE ALSO: A Navy SEAL platoon deployed in Iraq is being kicked out and sent home early due to reported alcohol abuse

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• A platoon from the Navy's SEAL Team 7 was sent home from Iraq over allegations of drinking during an Independence Day celebration in Iraq and potential misconduct with service women.
• Alcohol consumption by US service members is banned in Iraq, and this is the latest in a series of misconduct incidents involving US Navy SEALs.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve has booted a SEAL Team 7 platoon from Iraq due to a booze-fueled July 4th party, Navy Times has learned.

Officials at Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, are calling it "a perceived deteriorating of good order and discipline during non-operational periods."

In a prepared statement released Wednesday evening, SOCOM said that the joint task force commander lost confidence in the team's ability to accomplish the mission and the SEALs are now on a "deliberate redeployment" to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado near San Diego.

"All Department of Defense personnel are expected to uphold proven standards and to comply with laws and regulations," the statement read. "Alleged violations are thoroughly investigated."

On Wednesday, the SEALs were in Kuwait, bound for California. Although senior leaders in Iraq lost confidence in them, the key allegations being investigated mostly stem from drinking during an Independence Day celebration in Iraq and potential misconduct with service women.

Alcohol consumption by US service members is banned there.

Although he was exonerated of all war crimes charges by a panel of his peers, the recent court-martial trial of Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward "Eddie" Gallagher included witnesses testifying about a cowboy culture inside Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7, with their 2017 deployment to Iraq punctuated by heavy drinking on the battlefield and unlawful photos of service members posing with dead bodies.

Naval Special Warfare commander Rear Adm. Collin Green recently completed a review that explored potential ethical, health and cultural problems dogging a special operations force that's consistently rotated overseas since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Prosecutors also say a pair of Navy SEALs are linked to the June 4, 2017, death of Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar at his residence in Bamako, Mali.

Four SEALs stationed at Village Stability Platform Kalach in the Chora District of Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province also were charged in San Diego for their alleged roles in the May 31, 2012, beating of bound prisoners at the hands of Afghan Local Police militiamen, with one detainee possibly dying after the interrogations.

And before they were caught last year, several SEAL Team 10 special warfare operators snorted cocaine or spiked their drinks with the banned substance, often defeating military drug tests they termed "a joke," according to an internal investigation obtained by Navy Times.

There's also the early 2018 conviction of SEAL Team 1′s Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Gregory Kyle Seerden for recording images of child sexual abuse on his cellphone.

Without going into details about the latest round of allegations against SEAL Team 7, Naval Special Warfare spokeswoman Tamara Lawrence told Navy Times on Wednesday that her command is probing the case.

"Naval Special Warfare insists on a culture where ethical adherence is equally important to tactical proficiency," she said in a prepared statement emailed to Navy Times. "Good order and discipline is critical to the mission — the loss of confidence outweighed potential operational risk. To mitigate potential impacts of this redeployment, other NSW personnel are available to complete the assigned operational requirements.

"We're actively reinforcing, with the entire Force, basic leadership, readiness, responsibility, and ethical principles that must form the foundation of special operations. Leaders at all levels must lead in a way that sustains and sharpens that foundation. Discipline is a competitive advantage and enforcing those standards is critical to our success on the battlefield."

SEE ALSO: Booze, coke, hazing, forced redeployment — what's wrong with with the Navy SEALs?

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• A senior Navy SEAL with the platoon being kicked out of Iraq for misconduct has been accused of sexually assaulting a female service member working with the team, The New York Times reports.
• The Washington Post initially reported that the platoon, SEAL Team 7's Foxtrot platoon, was sent home for abusing alcohol, but now their are also reports that a female service member working with the platoon reported being sexually assaulted by a senior enlisted SEAL.
• US Special Operations command said Wednesday that a deployed SEAL platoon was returning early due to misconduct that led the commander to lose confidence in the team's ability to carry out its mission.
• When the investigation began, the platoon did not cooperate, collectively invoking their right to remain silent. The US special operations commander in Iraq then made the decision to send the platoon home.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A senior enlisted member of the Navy SEAL platoon being kicked out of Iraq over discipline problems was accused of raping a female service member, The New York Times reports.

US Special Operations Command revealed Wednesday evening that an unnamed SEAL platoon in Iraq was being sent home early due to misconduct that caused the commander to lose confidence in the team's ability to conduct the mission.

The statement identified the team's problems as "perceived deterioration of good order and discipline within the team during non-operational periods."

SEAL Team 7's Foxtrot platoon was caught abusing alcohol, The Washington Post first reported. According to Navy Times, the allegations under investigation stemmed largely from drinking at an Independence Day celebration.

Read more: A Navy SEAL platoon deployed in Iraq is being kicked out and sent home early due to reported alcohol abuse

But there appears to be more to it than a boozy Fourth of July party.

Not only were the SEALs in this platoon consuming alcohol in violation of relevant regulations, but a senior enlisted member of the platoon has been accused of raping a female service member working with the unit, The New York Times reported, citing a senior Navy official with knowledge of the issue.

The Post, citing a defense official, reported that an unidentified female service member reported being sexually assaulted by a senior enlisted SEAL in the platoon. A Navy official told The Post that he was aware the case involved alleged sexual misconduct but was not sure whether an assault was reported.

Read more: A SEAL Team 7 platoon was booted from Iraq over a booze-fueled July 4th party

A civilian attorney representing one of the SEALs in Foxtrot platoon confirmed to The Times that there was an investigation into allegations of drinking and sexual misconduct but did not provide any additional details.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is reportedly investigating the assault, while other investigators look into this unit's other problems.

When commanders began looking into the allegations surrounding Foxtrot platoon, the team decided not to cooperate, collectively invoking their right to remain silent. It was at that point that Maj. Gen. Eric Hill, who commands US special-operations troops in Iraq, made the decision to send these troops home.

"The Commander lost confidence in the team's ability to accomplish the mission," Wednesday's US Special Operations Command statement said.

Read more: Booze, coke, hazing, forced redeployment — what's wrong with the Navy SEALs?

"There were allegations of wrongdoing, and the commander initiated an investigation, which is still ongoing," command spokesman Ken McGraw told The New York Times. "After the investigation began, the commander lost confidence in the platoon's ability to accomplish the mission and ordered the platoon's redeployment."

As of Thursday, the 19 Navy SEALs and four support troops that make up Foxtrot platoon were reportedly on their way back to Naval Base Coronado in San Diego.

SEE ALSO: An internal investigation exposed cocaine use and lax testing within Navy SEAL Team 10

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NOW WATCH: GREEN BERET: This is how we're different from US Navy SEALs

• A member of the elite unit SEAL Team 6 has been charged with impersonating multiple people to get access to nude photos of women.
• He is said to have used a spoofing program to send text messages from fake phone numbers to people at Naval Special Warfare Development Group in an effort to procure the photos.
• Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Howard is expected to stand trial in a general court martial, though his lawyer, who is seeking to have the case thrown out, says Howard plans to plead not guilty.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A member of SEAL Team 6 has been charged with impersonating multiple people in text messages from spoofed phone numbers to solicit nude photos of women, The Virginian-Pilot reported Friday.

Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Howard is expected to stand trial in a general court-martial at Naval Station Norfolk.

According to The Pilot, the SEAL, who was reportedly named Sailor of the Year in 2016, is charged with pretending to be multiple people and is said to have used a phone-number spoofing program, which allows the user to make calls or send messages from any number of their choosing, to message people at Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) in order to get the photographs.

Howard — who reportedly received a number of medals, including valor awards — is planning to plead not guilty to all charges, his attorney, Michael Waddington, told reporters. Vowing to fight until the end, Waddington is trying to have the case thrown out.

Waddington argues that prosecution's case against Howard has no merit, given that investigators did not find incriminating photos in Howard's possession and that he passed two polygraph tests, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

The attorney, who filed a motion claiming unlawful command influence, also said the Navy made up charges that do not exist in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The charges against the SEAL apparently fall under General Article 134, "all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces."

INSIDER was unable to connect with Howard's lawyer prior to publication.

Read more: A Navy SEAL platoon deployed in Iraq is being kicked out and sent home early due to reported alcohol abuse

News of Howard's case comes at a time when the SEALs are being called out left and right for misconduct.

Several members of SEAL Team 7 were recently thrust into the spotlight in the high-profile war crimes trial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who was ultimately cleared of murder charges but was found guilty of taking an unlawful photo with the dead body of a prisoner of war he was accused of stabbing to death.

Read more: A Navy SEAL in the platoon being kicked out of Iraq for misconduct was reportedly accused of raping a fellow service member

That trial wrapped up earlier this month, but a report came out earlier this week about rampant drug abuse, specifically of cocaine, within SEAL Team 10, and on Wednesday, the commander of special operations in Iraq sent SEAL Team 7's Foxtrot platoon home early over alcohol abuse and sexual-assault allegations, as well as the SEALs' unwillingness to cooperate with investigators.

SEE ALSO: An Army colonel has gone public with allegations that one of Trump's top military nominees sexually assaulted her in a hotel room

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NOW WATCH: Why you hold your boss accountable, according to a Navy SEAL

• Vice Adm. Michael Gilday, nominated to take over as chief of naval operations, told lawmakers he would swiftly address any leadership failures among the service's special-operations forces
• Gilday's promise comes after several scandals involving US Navy SEALs, including abuses, drinking while deployed, and other misconduct.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The nominee for the Navy's top uniformed post promised to "quickly and firmly" deal with any leadership failures among his service's special operations forces in the wake of a series of embarrassing scandals for the elite sailors.

Tapped to take over as the next Chief of Naval Operations, Vice Adm. Michael Gilday told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that investigations into alleged misbehavior by those service members are still ongoing and he was anxious to review the findings.

"Ethics is a particularly important point for me and that begins at the top of my leadership and extends through all of the flag officers as well as our commanders, right down through the chief petty officers," he said. "Every day we go to work, we bring our values with us. It is especially important in combat that those values be maintained."

Last week, Special Operations Command officials in Iraq booted a SEAL platoon from there after accusations surfaced involving drinking, fraternization and sexual assault among its members. Days later, a member of SEAL Team 6 was charged with soliciting nude photos of women while impersonating other people.

The reports come between two high-profile trials of other Navy SEALs.

Earlier in July, Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher was found not guilty in connection with the stabbing death of an Iraqi detainee but witnesses detailed a cowboy culture of deployed service members, punctuated by boozing on the battlefield and mugging for photos with the dead prisoner of war.

Special Operations Chief Tony DeDolph also goes on trial next week in connection with the hazing death of a soldier two years ago.

Despite the flood of negative news, Navy officials have publicly stated they do not see cultural problems eroding the sea service's community of special operators. Under questioning from lawmakers, however, Gilday promised a closer look at that concern.

"I'm committed to the idea that we need people with dignity and respect," he told senators. "Physical violence, sexual assault have no place in the Navy."

Gilday, who has previously served as the head of US Fleet Cyber Command and 10th Fleet commander, was thrust into the path for the top Navy job after the sudden retirement of Adm. Bill Moran. He had been confirmed for the chief of naval operations post before details emerged of a continuing professional relationship with a former public affairs officer embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal.

Despite that unexpected leadership shake-up, senators spoke highly of Gilday's experience and said they expected an easy confirmation for him.

"It has never been more important that our Navy have principled leaders who promote respect throughout the ranks, and adhere to a moral code that can serve as an example to all our sailors and Marines," said committee ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island. "We all expect and demand that you will be that leader."

The timing of that confirmation may be complicated, however. Senate officials were hoping to speed a final vote on Gilday's promotion through their chamber this week, ahead of the scheduled extended summer break.

If that action doesn't take place in the next few days, a final confirmation vote won't occur until early September, when lawmakers return to legislative business after work in their home districts.

SEE ALSO: Booze, coke, hazing, forced redeployment — what's wrong with the Navy SEALs?

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NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs explain the dangers of overplanning in both the military and business

• Naval Special Warfare Command leader Rear Adm. Collin Green has given commanders until August 7 to identify problems in their unit and propose solutions for out-of-control SEAL teams.
• "We have a problem," Green said in a letter to commanders, according to CNN.
• SEALs and SEAL platoons have been involved in several serious, high-profile scandals in the past year, involving drug use, sexual assault, and murder.
• Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.

Navy Special Warfare Rear Adm. Collin Green told his unit explicitly, "We have a problem," in a letter obtained by obtained by CNN.

"I don't know yet if we have a culture problem. I do know that we have a good order and discipline problem that must be addressed immediately," Green said in the letter, giving SEAL commanders until August 7 to find a path forward in the wake of multiple recent scandals.

In the past month alone, one former SEAL received a 60-year sentence for sexually abusing a child, on top of a previous 27-year sentence for manufacturing child pornography, Task & Purpose reported Wednesday. And a SEAL Team 7 platoon was sent home from deployment in Iraq over its abuse of alcohol and allegations that one member raped a woman service member assigned to the unit, a senior Navy official told The New York Times.

A member of SEAL Team 6, the legendary group that executed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, was also charged with making up false identities to solicit nude photos, The Virginian-Pilot reported, and a Navy investigation found that members of SEAL Team 10 were using cocaine and cheating on drug tests last year.

Read more: Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher's attorney asks supporters for war photos with dead bodies in a bid to reduce his client's sentence

Two SEALs were charged in the 2017 murder of Army Green Beret Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar while deployed in Niger. One was convicted in June for his role in the death and is under investigation for allegedly hitting on Melgar's wife after he was charged with her husband's murder.

The spotlight has been on the elite community in recent months, partly due to the high-profile case of SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher, who was accused by his teammates of killing a captured Iraqi. Gallagher was acquitted of a murder charge but convicted of taking an inappropriate photo with the corpse of the combatant.

Vice Adm. Michael Gilday, nominee to be the next chief of naval operations, the Navy's top uniformed position, has expressed concern about the special-operations community, saying he would "quickly and firmly" deal with the scandals rocking the SEALs.

Special-operations platoons have been on almost constant deployment of the past two decades, playing an increasingly vital role in US combat operations worldwide. But the physical demands and psychological stress of their work might contribute to behavioral and mental-health issues.

The most recent scandals come after the Pentagon conducted a review of special operations forces' ethics and professionalism programs at the behest of Congress. That report found no issues with the ethics and professionalism training those forces received, according to Task & Purpose.

INSIDER reached out to Naval Special Warfare Command, Special Operations Command, and the Pentagon for comment, but none responded by publication time.

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SEE ALSO: The admiral who oversaw the bin Laden raid says this is one thing Navy SEALs must do

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