The backwash from the US Navy Seals saga

MY ANALYSIS IN THE TIMES The US Navy Seals saga has driven divisions between the top officer class and lower ranks, pitted Pentagon leaders against their commander-in-chief and narrowed the separation between politics and the military. President Trump’s intervention in support of the highly decorated veteran Seal operator Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher has also led to anguished reappraisals of a special forces community which has in the past relied on secrecy and anonymity.There had been plans to expand the Seals organisation, creating more combat platoons to deal with the ever-increasing demand for their unique talents around the world.That has now been put on hold while the Seals command hierarchy examines whether the elite units are adequately trained in leadership skills, following a series of headline disciplinary breaches. CPO Gallagher’s photograph next to the body of a young Iraqi prisoner was not the only breach in accepted conduct. However, the case of CPO Gallagher who retires tomorrow (Saturday) posed the greatest dilemma, not just because of the president’s outrage over the way the US Navy had handled the war crimes charges against him, but because the publicity it generated disrupted strictly regulated internal procedures which military chiefs and Pentagon officials felt should not be undermined by political interference. The result is that US Navy chiefs in particular will now be more wary than ever of the need to avoid Mr Trump’s displeasure. He had already castigated them for failing to resolve technical problems with the new-generation Gerald R Ford class aircraft carrier. By contrast, the president’s support for CPO Gallagher and his pardoning of two soldiers charged with war crimes, one of whom had already served more than six years of a 19-year sentence, went down well with the troops. Knowing they have their commander-in-chief on their side will increase Mr Trump’s popularity across the military. Polls among armed service personnel consistently show majority support for the president. Only their commanding officers will be worried at White House political intrusion. General Jim Mattis, ousted by Mr Trump as defence secretary, remarked last month that he had earned his spurs on the battlefield while the president had “earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor”. However, the fact that Mr Trump was given a medical deferment from serving in the military in the Vietnam war because of bone spurs has had little if any impact on his popularity among troops. Above all, Mr Trump has reemphasised in the boldest possible terms that as commander-in-chief he has the right to intervene because he is at the top of the chain of command. It has been a grim reminder for the Pentagon.