A former SEAL sniper who served under controversial Navy Chief Eddie Gallagher in Iraq accused him of purposely putting soldiers in the crossfire and regrets not doing more to stop his former commanding officer from committing war crimes.
Special Operator 1st Class Josh Virens served in Navy SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon in Mosul, Iraq under Gallagher's command in 2017. The chief had been accused of killing dozens of Iraqi civilians, including a schoolgirl and an elderly man armed with just an empty jug, during the deployment.
In 2019, Gallagher was found guilty of unlawfully posing for a picture with a dead ISIS teen in Mosul, Iraq, but was acquitted on more serious charges that included shooting civilians on multiple occasions, possessing a controlled substance, torturing and killing a prisoner, and obstructing justice.
However, then-President Donald Trump saw Gallagher as a 'real-life Rambo' and pardoned him in 2019. Trump also personally ensured that disciplinary action, which could have kicked him out of the SEALs, the Navy's most elite unit, wouldn't be taken and invited Gallagher to visit him at Mar-a-Lago.
But in an open-letter published Tuesday, Virens shared more details about Gallagher's actions during Alpha Platoon's time in Mosul.
Former SEAL sniper Josh Virens (left) has accused his former commanding officer Eddie Gallagher (right) of purposefully putting soldiers in the crossfire and trying to get soldiers killed along with other 'horrific' actions while deployed in Iraq in 2017
Gallagher (circled) was accused of war crimes by several men under his command in Navy SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon, which was deployed to Mosul, Iraq
Gallagher was acquitted of nearly all charges in 2019 but convicted for posing with the dead ISIS teenager's body
Gallagher's case drew widespread controversy with President Trump repeatedly intervening on his behalf. Gallagher (right) and his wife Andrea (second from the right) met with Trump (second from the left) and Melania (left) at Mar-a-Lago back in 2019 following his acquittal
He claimed that his commander repeatedly sent men out into the crossfire and unsafe locations. He previously told CBS This Morning that Gallagher instructed the platoon to turn their GPS trackers off and ordered them behind enemy lines.
Virens said that Gallagher went against instruction from headquarters and labeled anyone who did not support his plan as a coward.
'These were part of Gallagher’s effort to get a SEAL injured or killed so that we would, in his words, “make it a great deployment,”' Virens wrote.
'Real brothers don’t needlessly put their men at risk. Real brothers don’t chase medals. And they certainly don’t murder unarmed prisoners or terrorize civilian populations,' Virens lamented.
Gallagher (pictured) made an 'effort to get a SEAL injured or killed so that we would, in his words, “make it a great deployment,”' Virens claimed
Gallagher has always maintained that the charges brought against him were made up by six members of his platoon who wanted to force him out and did not like his leadership style
Virens also claimed that Gallagher was addicted to a powerful painkiller and was popping Provigil pills to keep himself awake on long missions, which left him amped and acting like the 'Energizer Bunny.'
'The problem was one man’s insecurities, greed, and addiction,' Virens noted.
The former SEAL also defended his platoon, explaining that he and his other platoon members reported their chief's alleged war crimes to their troop commander and were told that the situation was being handled.
'As far as we knew, the ball was in their court and our officers would do the right thing,' Virens wrote. 'My only regret is not doing more.'
Gallagher was acquitted in 2019 of stabbing to death the wounded ISIS 17-year-old after one of the SEALs, Corey Scott, who had been expected to testify for the
