President Donald Trump even intervened to get Gallagher removed from the brig as he awaited trial and is said to be considering a pardon for him. His defense has been championed by his family and some congressional Republicans who have claimed that he's a hero getting railroaded. Gallagher says disgruntled platoon mates fabricated the charges. The case is built around testimony from Gallagher's fellow troops and highlights an unusual break in the secrecy of the elite special operations force. An accompanying text, “Got him with my hunting knife,” led to the accusations, but his lawyer said it was not a confession, but dark humor.Five Marines and two Navy members were chosen for the high-profile and politically charged court-martial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher. It attempts to explain the conditions that led to Gallagher’s trophy photo with the dead ISIS teen. The book is dark, depicting the brutality that special operators faced fighting ISIS in 2017. “I hope the reader, if they’re civilian, can at least absorb that information better than me trying to … talk in such a militarized manner.” “I wrote it like I always talked when I was in the military,” Gallagher said. Gallagher, wearing a T-shirt reading “Kill Bad Dudes,” told Stars and Stripes he hoped his book would show civilians an honest view of warfare and offer fellow veterans a relatable narrative.

“Those two spent more time and energy trying to turn the platoon against me than they did trying to kill ISIS,” he wrote about Special Warfare Operators 1st Class Dylan Dille and Dalton Tolbert, who served in his platoon and told Naval Criminal Investigative Services of Gallagher’s alleged killings of civilians and the ISIS teen.

The book, “The Man in the Arena,” largely focuses on his life and career, rehashing his case and taking aim at SEALs from his platoon he claims plotted to accuse him of war crimes. He was acquitted on all but one - posing with the teenager’s corpse in a photo he sent to friends - and was reduced in rank after his conviction, from chief petty officer to 1 st class petty officer. Then-President Donald Trump reversed the decision shortly after, and his rank was restored. Gallagher made national headlines in September 2018 when members from his platoon accused him of shooting Iraqi civilians and stabbing a captured teenage Islamic State fighter to death, leading to 10 charges of war crimes.

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