The quotes by Tim O’Brien are taken from the piece “How to Tell a True War Story,” included in his book The Things They Carried (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990).
Details of Edward Gallagher’s activities at the Intrepid Center come from medical records from the center, which were included in the Navy’s criminal investigation files. Details about Gallagher’s wife encouraging him to go to the Intrepid Center come from notes taken at an intake interview at the center that were included in his medical records. The description of Alpha’s mascot, the Bad Karma Chick, comes from interviews with Alpha members and with Chuck Pfarrer, the SEAL who originated the SEAL concept of “Bad Karma” in the 1980s. Gallagher’s recollections of joining the Navy and of being arrested and processed into the brig are from two lengthy interviews he gave to the podcasts Cleared Hot, published January 27, 2020, and Mike Drop, published February 13, 2020. In those interviews, he also described joining the Navy and becoming a corpsman, despite not knowing what a corpsman was. Gallagher’s decision to join the military “to go to war” comes from Navy medical records included in his criminal investigation file. The statistics of the platoon’s accomplishments in Mosul come from performance evaluations of SEALs in Alpha. The estimates that Eddie had killed more than a hundred people with his sniper rifle come from statements he made to other SEALs in Mosul that were relayed to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Additional details about Gallagher’s family life, his return home from Mosul, and what he told people about the rumors being spread by malcontents come from author interviews with his wife, Andrea Gallagher, and brother, Sean Gallagher, in 2018.
The description of Alpha’s general attitude toward Gallagher when he took over the platoon and his reputation is from interviews NCIS agents conducted in 2018 with the following SEALs: Craig Miller, Dylan Dille, Josh Vriens, Dalton Tolbert, Joe Arrington, Ivan Villanueva, Corey Scott, T. C. Byrne, David Shaw, and Tom MacNeil. Descriptions of the new-guy games at La Posta as well as the accounts of Gallagher’s safety violations are from author interviews with seven SEALs who were present. The description of the story of shooting the little girl in Afghanistan is from NCIS interviews with Lieutenant Commander Robert Breisch, Josh Vriens, and Dylan Dille as well as author interviews with three other SEALs. The characterization of the guys in Alpha as nerds comes from Gallagher’s description on the podcast Mike Drop. Gallagher’s characterization of Jake Portier is taken from NCIS interviews of Alpha SEALs as well as author interviews with SEALs from Alpha. The description of Gallagher presenting Portier as “like an enlisted guy” is from author interviews with three SEALs. The characterization of Portier’s friendly relationship with Gallagher and their lax approach toward fraternization comes from interviews with SEALs and text messages that suggest they regularly went drinking together. Text messages sent by Gallagher included in this chapter are from NCIS reports summarizing text messages from his seized cellphones. Gallagher skipping drug screenings comes from a signed proffer submitted to the Navy by Lieutenant Tom MacNeil. Details of Gallagher skipping training to go to Mexico come from Gallagher’s texts, which detail the trip and how leaders later discovered his unauthorized absence, and interviews with five SEALs who discussed the event. Descriptions of Gallagher as a BUD/S instructor are from author interviews with SEALs who had him as an instructor.
Descriptions of the conversation between Craig Miller, Dalton Tolbert, and Dylan Dille in the truck are from author interviews with multiple SEALs familiar with the conversation. Gallagher’s preoccupation with SEALs getting wounded and Purple Hearts is from NCIS interviews with Craig Miller, T. C. Byrne, and Josh Vriens. The general description of Alpha platoon’s advise and assist mission in Iraq is from NCIS interviews with Craig Miller, Dylan Dille, Josh Vriens, Dalton Tolbert, Joe Arrington, Ivan Villanueva, Corey Scott, T. C. Byrne, David Shaw, and Tom MacNeil. Additional details are from author interviews with SEALs. Gallagher’s comments about having to get creative about getting close to the action come from an interview on the podcast Mike Drop.
Details of the first combat operation and the altercation afterward come from author interviews with four SEALs.
The pattern of daily operations in Mosul and Gallagher’s unwillingness to act as tactical lead are from NCIS interviews with ten SEALs from Alpha. Gallagher’s habit of turning off trackers and giving false locations comes from author interviews with six SEALs. Descriptions of Dalton Tolbert’s childhood come from an author interview with Tolbert’s mother. Descriptions of Gallagher’s account of shooting at a sniper on the first combat mission come from three SEALs who heard the account given by Gallagher and Joe Arrington. Descriptions of Tolbert’s time with Gallagher in sniper hides come from conversations Tolbert had with Dylan Dille that Tolbert shared with the author. The description of the shot Gallagher took comes from an account created by Tolbert at the time that was provided to the author.
Descriptions of the relationship between Gallagher and Jake Portier come from NCIS interviews and author interviews with seven SEALs who described Gallagher as dismissive and disrespectful toward the officer. Portier did not speak to investigators and did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this book. Gallagher’s relationship with Golf platoon is based on text messages sent by Gallagher that were on a phone seized by NCIS and on interviews with former Golf platoon and Alpha platoon members. Descriptions of the mustard attack come from interviews with SEALs and from Gallagher’s texts seized by NCIS. Gallagher’s description of his affinity for the Javelin missile is from the podcast Cleared Hot. The descriptions of Gallagher seemingly shooting at nothing or inventing kills are from NCIS and author interviews with several SEALs, including an NCIS interview with Brian Alazzawi. Descriptions of the final battle in the chapter are from eyewitness accounts of several SEALs who were there and photos that show the damage the Javelin missile caused to the mosque. Descriptions of differences between the platoon’s two medics come from interviews with SEALs in Alpha platoon and other platoons that worked with the SEALs. Descriptions of Corey Scott’s failed side businesses and reputation for not exceeding expectations come from author interviews with four SEALs. Additional descriptions of the battle come from official Navy citations for multiple medals awarded to platoon members for actions that day. The description of firing forty-millimeter grenades into the city comes from two SEALs who observed the incident.
The quotation about David and Goliath comes from Chuck Pfarrer’s book Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy Seal (New York: Random House, 2003), p. 75. The quotation that begins “They considered all of us as crazy” comes from Edward Higgins, printed in Dick Couch and William Doyle, Navy SEALs: Their Untold Story (New York: William Morrow, 2015), p. 42. The story that ends, “Yes, sir, but they got the job done,” comes from Edwin R. Ashby, quoted in Kevin Dockery, Navy SEALs: A Complete History from World War II to the Present (New York: Berkley, 2002), p. 44.
Admiral Bill McRaven’s quote about SEALs being creative comes from an interview with the The Dallas Morning News, December 24, 2011. The description of the Phoenix Program in Vietnam comes from Michael J. Walsh, SEAL! From Vietnam’s Phoenix Program to Central America’s Drug Wars (New York: Pocket Books, 1994); Bill Fawcett, ed., Hunters and Shooters: An Oral History of Vietnam (New York: William Morrow, 1995); and Dockery, Navy SEALs. The characterization of SEALs as “assassins” comes from Couch and Doyle, Navy SEALs, p. 91. Roy Boehm’s quote about fighting dirty comes from Dockery, Navy SEALs. Mike Beanan’s description of his platoon stealing and killing in Vietnam was published under the pseudonym “Mike Beamon” in Al Santoli, Everything We Had (New York: Ballantine, 1981). Details of Bob Kerrey’s mission in Vietnam come from Amy Waldman, “Bob Kerrey Reveals His Role in Deaths of Vietnam Civilians,” The New York Times, April 25, 2001. All descriptions and quotes from Richard “Demo Dick” Marcinko are from his book Rogue Warrior (Pocket Books, 1993), with the exception of the quote that begins, “There’s something to be said about the purity of a small war,” which is from Dockery, Navy SEALs. Marcinko’s description of William McRaven is from Barton Gellman, “William McRaven: The Admiral,” Time, December 14, 2011. Descriptions of SEALs leaving Vietnam in 1971 fearing war crime prosecution are from the article “Navy ‘SEALs,’ Super Secret Commandos Are Quitting Vietnam,” The New York Times, November 29, 1971. Descriptions of SEALs being taught to use knives and garrotes by superiors are from Pfarrer, Warrior Soul, p. 40. The description of the covert SEAL mission in Libya comes from “Papers Say U.S. Troops Landed in Libya in ’86,” Associated Press, September 17, 1987. Descriptions of SEAL Team 6 and the use of hatchets and “canoeing” are from Matthew Cole, “The Crimes of SEAL Team 6,” The Intercept, January 10, 2017, and Mark Mazzetti, Nicholas Kulish, Christopher Drew, Serge F. Kovaleski, Sean D. Naylor, and John Ismay, “SEAL Team 6: A Secret History of Quiet Killings and Blurred Lines,” The New York Times, June 7, 2015. Descriptions of ethical drift and lack of discipline in the most hectic period of the war in Iraq come from author interviews with current and former SEAL officers. Quotes from Chris Kyle and descriptions of Kyle using the Punisher emblem are from his memoir, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (New York: William Morrow, 2012).
The details of Gallagher’s views on killing and on seeing the village on May 3, 2017, come from a 2020 interview with the podcast The Shawn Ryan Show. The characterization of the relationship between Gallagher and Tom MacNeil comes from statements Gallagher made about MacNeil to three SEALs interviewed by the author, and from statements MacNeil made in a proffer to Navy prosecutors. Accounts of the May 3 stabbing, the events leading up to it, and the aftermath come from interviews with NCIS agents conducted in 2018 with the following SEALs: Craig Miller, Dylan Dille, Josh Vriens, Dalton Tolbert, Joe Arrington, Ivan Villanueva, Corey Scott, T. C. Byrne, David Shaw, Tom MacNeil, Air Force Technical Sergeant Ryan Rynkowski, and General Abbas al-Jubouri, as well as court testimony from Marine Staff Sergeant Gio Kirylo, Miller, Byrne, MacNeil, Tolbert, and Dille. Scott’s description comes from NCIS interviews. He provided additional descriptions of his actions that day in trial testimony, which are detailed in Chapter 14, but declined to be interviewed for this book. Descriptions of Jake Portier organizing a group photo come from statements to NCIS from Dylan Dille and Craig Miller, as well as author interviews with multiple SEALs who witnessed the event. Details of Gallagher’s previous reenlistment with the Good Old Boys come from a video of the ceremony seized by NCIS. The account of Gallagher seeing the photo of the dead captive and telling Josh Vriens he had stabbed him comes from testimony Vriens gave at Gallagher’s trial. NCIS’s attention to this one day was meticulous for obvious reasons. Additional details come from video and photos from that day. Background of Terence Charles Byrne II comes from congressional testimony by Representative Henry Gonzalez, January 21, 1993, and from Tim Kelsey, “How the UK Fed a War Machine: A European Network of Firms Secretly Supplied Ammunition to Both Sides of the Iran/Iraq Conflict, Often with Government Complicity,” The Independent, August 29, 1992. Gallagher’s text messages are from an NCIS report on his seized cellphone. Background on Andrew Arrabito comes from numerous third-party interviews Arrabito has given, including a 2020 interview with the publication Skillset. Details of Ivan Villanueva’s arrest come from a Coronado Police Department arrest record, as well as text messages between Gallagher, Portier, and Villanueva.
Descriptions of the pink house come from photos and videos taken on-site by the platoon. The descriptions of the rat holes and the IEDs they contained come from author interviews with three SEALs who went through those holes. The description of Dragon getting shot and the response comes from helmet cam video. The description of Jake Portier not calling in a medevac immediately comes from four SEALs who witnessed the event and the proffer Tom MacNeil submitted to the Navy. The description of Gallagher directing the evacuation and carrying St. John Mondragon-Knapp on his shoulder comes from author interviews with three SEALs who witnessed the event. The description of Gallagher receiving a hatchet and knife from Andrew Arrabito comes from Gallagher’s texts and author interviews with three SEALs. The story of Gallagher cutting himself with the hatchet and trying to claim a combat injury comes from NCIS interviews with Byrne as well as author interviews with two SEALs who directly witnessed the injury and Gallagher’s attempt to file Purple Heart paperwork. The account of Gallagher deciding to carry a hatchet comes from author interviews with six SEALs and the MacNeil proffer. The description of Dragon’s injuries comes from three SEALs who were present as well as helmet cam footage of medics treating Dragon. The description of the interaction with the second captive comes from the MacNeil proffer as well as author interviews with three SEALs who were present. The descriptions of Gallagher’s childhood, decision to join the Navy, and problems in the military come from interviews he gave to the Mike Drop and Cleared Hot podcasts as well as military records, including medical records seized when he was arrested. Gallagher’s failure to complete special operations combat medic training the first time comes from Navy records. Gallagher’s use of racist, transphobic, and homophobic comments comes from interviews with five SEALs and text messages on Gallagher’s phones, which were seized by NCIS. Descriptions of Josh Vriens’s perception that Gallagher purposefully exposed him to fire come from Vriens’s interview with NCIS and author interviews with three SEALs. Descriptions of Gallagher getting in trouble as a BUD/S instructor come from author interviews with two SEALs and statements by Robert Breisch to NCIS. Reports that Gallagher went back repeatedly to the pink house come from interviews with four SEALs and photos provided by those SEALs. The confrontation between Dalton Tolbert and Gallagher comes from an author interview with two SEALs. Details of Gallagher and Portier telling the Special Operations Task Force commander that “friendly fire” had hit St. John Mondragon-Knapp come from the proffer by MacNeil, who witnessed the exchange.
Details of repeated trips to the Towers come from interviews by NCIS agents conducted in 2018 with the following: Craig Miller, Dylan Dille, Josh Vriens, Dalton Tolbert, Brian Alazzawi, Joe Arrington, Ivan Villanueva, Corey Scott, T. C. Byrne, David Shaw, Tom MacNeil, and General Abbas al-Jubouri, as well as court testimony from Miller, Scott, Byrne, MacNeil, Tolbert, and Dille. Additional details come from author interviews with six SEALs. The physical description of the Towers comes from photos taken by the platoon and by NCIS. Details of Dille’s journal were included in the NCIS investigation files. The description of Gallagher’s lack of formal sniper training comes from his Navy records and from an NCIS interview with a Marine official. Details of Gallagher’s drug use come from medical records showing years of prescriptions and texts between Gallagher and several other SEALs that were seized by NCIS. The platoon’s observations of possible drug use come from NCIS interviews with Vriens, Dille, Arrington, and Miller as well as author interviews with SEALs. In addition, Gallagher’s wife seemed to acknowledge his drug use in at least one text message she sent to him in July 2018. Gallagher’s belief that Dalton Tolbert and Dylan Dille were starting a mutiny comes from Gallagher’s statement on the Mike Drop podcast. Reports of petty theft by Gallagher come from several SEALs’ accounts to NCIS, author interviews with four SEALs, and trial testimony by Dylan Dille. The account that Gallagher got Ivan Villanueva to ask his mom to buy him tramadol in Mexico comes from author interviews with three SEALs, as well as the text conversations between the two men. Evidence of Gallagher’s use of Provigil comes from author interviews with three SEALs. Evidence of Gallagher’s testosterone use comes from a text saying he can’t get “vitamin x” and is wasting away, as well as author interviews with four SEALs, and photos showing the testosterone Gallagher asked interpreters to buy for him in Iraq. The accounts of his abuse of tramadol come from author interviews with four SEALs. The account of Josh Vriens seeing a girl shot, then hearing from Joe Arrington that Gallagher had shot the girl, comes from Vriens’s interview with NCIS and his trial testimony. Joe Arrington did not mention the death of the girl in NCIS interviews and did not testify at Gallagher’s trial. Gallagher denied killing the girl by pleading not guilty, and in multiple public statements after the trial has said he did not shoot any civilians in Iraq, including the old man Dille and Tolbert claimed they saw killed and the girl Vriens claimed he saw killed.
Accounts of Gallagher growing increasingly erratic, going on “gun runs,” and ordering junior SEALs to fire rockets into neighborhoods come from NCIS interviews with Craig Miller and Dylan Dille, author interviews with three SEALs, and Tom MacNeil’s proffer to the Navy. Details of the confrontation between Joe Arrington and Gallagher come from interviews conducted by NCIS agents in 2018 with the following SEALs: Craig Miller, Dylan Dille, Dalton Tolbert, Joe Arrington, and Tom MacNeil. Additional details come from author interviews with SEALs. The timing of the incident was determined by text messages sent by Gallagher that were on his phone when it was seized by NCIS. Details of the Switchblade incident that killed several civilians come from an NCIS interview with Josh Vriens. Additional details of both episodes come from author interviews with two SEALs who were there. Details of Gallagher’s attempts to leave the deployment early come from interviews with SEALs, the MacNeil proffer, and text messages sent by Gallagher during that time, which were later found by NCIS on his phone.
Gallagher’s conversations with Master Chief Brian Alazzawi come from interviews NCIS agents conducted in 2018 and author interviews. Gallagher’s statement to Christian Mullan about breaking someone’s nose comes from text messages seized by NCIS and interviews with SEALs who spoke to Mullan. Gallagher’s account of the meeting in the high bay and his statements come from an interview on the Mike Drop podcast. Other details of the meeting are from author and NCIS interviews. Gallagher’s statement “I have shit on all of you…if you take me down, I will take all of you down” comes from trial testimony by Craig Miller and Tom MacNeil, who witnessed the statement. Details of the meeting between Miller, Alazzawi, and Portier after Miller told Alazzawi about the stabbing come from author interviews with two SEALs. Details of Gallagher’s activities after deployment in the fall of 2017 are based on records and text messages obtained by NCIS. Descriptions of Gallagher seeking treatment that fall for traumatic brain injury come from his text messages and medical records. Those records include his summary of the blast he said may have caused the injury. Author interviews with three SEALs suggested that Gallagher had not mentioned the blast during deployment. Descriptions and photos of the Alpha plaque and its mistakes come from Sewing Circle texts included in NCIS investigative files. The description of the January meeting between Robert Breisch and Miller comes from NCIS interviews of both men and additional reporting by the author. Breisch confirmed to NCIS that he met with SEALs from Alpha more than once before formally reporting Gallagher to NCIS but said they did not discuss criminal misconduct. Breisch did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this book. He was never charged with any misconduct. Gallagher’s admission to Brian Alazzawi that the captive had reached for his gun and Gallagher had “fucked him up” comes from Alazzawi’s statement to NCIS. The description of the meeting in the Donnell Classroom comes from NCIS interviews with Alazzawi, Breisch, Miller, Dille, Scott, and Vriens. Regarding Robert Breisch’s apparent failure to report Gallagher, Breisch told NCIS he first heard about SEALs taking photos with the dead captive shortly after they were taken in May 2017 but was unaware of any other criminal activity until April 2018. However, Craig Miller and Brian Alazzawi both testified that they told him about Gallagher’s other crimes in the fall of 2017. Several other SEALs told NCIS that Breisch was also informed of the killings during a meeting in March 2018. The description of the meeting where Breisch failed to report the crime comes from an NCIS interview with Brian Alazzawi, the MacNeil proffer, and interviews with two SEALs. The date and wording of the email sent by Breisch to report the crime come from the original email, included in NCIS files. Details on the horrifying My Lai episode come from Joseph Goldstein, Burke Marshall, and Jack Schwartz, The My Lai Massacre and Its Cover-Up: Beyond the Reach of Law? (New York: Free Press, 1976), and “G.I.’s, in Pincer Move, Kill 128 in a Daylong Battle,” The New York Times, March 17, 1968. The description of Miller’s conversation with Brian Ferguson comes from NCIS notes and author interviews.
The details of conversations SEALs had with NCIS Special Agent Joe Warpinski come from videos of those interviews produced by NCIS. The description of Gallagher believing he could beat the accusations unless there was hard evidence comes from statements Dylan Dille made to NCIS agents in 2018. Descriptions of NCIS views of the development of the case come from interviews with Navy personnel. Details on how and when Gallagher learned about the case come from text messages recovered from his cellphone seized by NCIS. Gallagher’s possession of Brian Ferguson’s contact information comes from text messages recovered from his cellphone, later seized by NCIS. Background on Brian Ferguson comes from articles by the University of Texas Daily Texan as well as interviews with people familiar with him. The description that Ferguson reached out to most of the platoon and warned them about the risks of talking to NCIS comes from author interviews with four SEALs, a review of text messages sent to them by Ferguson, and the list of SEALs Ferguson eventually represented. Descriptions of Gallagher walking past Vriens’s house come from NCIS reports and interviews with SEALs. Gallagher’s statements about the SEALs at Green Team come from text messages recovered from his cellphone, later seized by NCIS. The account of the investigation of the crime scenes in Mosul comes from an Army Criminal Investigative Division report included in the NCIS files. The account of the search of Gallagher’s house comes from photos and a report generated by NCIS. The account of Warpinski questioning a young sailor about stolen grenades comes from a court brief from United States v. Aaron A. Booker. The description of the search of Gallagher’s operator box comes from several photos taken by NCIS. Descriptions of the texts Gallagher sent taking credit for the killing of the prisoner come from NCIS reports on the contents of his seized cellphone. The assertion that Gallagher and Portier told SEALs to delete the photos from May 3, 2017, comes from the testimony of T. C. Byrne at trial, author interviews with three SEALs, and a proffer Tom MacNeil submitted to the Navy. In an interview with The Shawn Ryan Show in December 2020, Gallagher acknowledged that he told SEALs to delete the photos. Descriptions of Andrew Arrabito come from the Half Face Blades website and Arrabito’s Instagram account. Arrabito’s text conversations with Gallagher were included in Gallagher’s phone, later seized by NCIS. The description of the meeting between Vice Admiral Tim Symanski, Rear Admiral Collin Green, and Captain Matt Rosenbloom comes from interviews with two SEAL sources.
Information on Joe Warpinski’s conversations with prosecutors comes from NCIS reports and interviews with Navy personnel. The translation of the Al Iraqiya video is by The New York Times.
Abbas al-Jubouri’s interview comes from a summary in NCIS files. Details of the DNA evidence come from NCIS reports and reports by an outside lab hired by the Navy. The account of the Navy SEAL shooting a farmer in Marjah district, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in February 2010 comes from three sources: the NCIS summary of the FBI interview with John Rindt and author interviews with two soldiers from 3rd Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3121 and Advanced Operational Base 1220. The news article reporting Gallagher was under investigation for the killing is Andrew Dyer, “Navy SEAL Charged with Iraq War Crimes Also Under Investigation in Death of Afghan Civilian in 2010,” The San Diego Union-Tribune, April 23, 2018. Evidence of Gallagher’s presence in the Marjah district during the same time comes from his Navy performance evaluation, written a short time later by Robert Breisch, which was included in the NCIS files. Details on Brian Ferguson representing more SEALs come from letters of representation contained in the NCIS files. Details of Ferguson’s texts with Miller are in the NCIS files, as is an account of Ferguson’s phone conversation with Josh Vriens. Criminal charges against Jake Portier and a letter notifying Robert Breisch he was under criminal investigation were publicly reported by Navy Times.
Details of what Andrea Gallagher was wearing and what she said during her initial television interview are based on videos of that interview, which aired on Fox & Friends, December 22, 2018. Andrea Gallagher’s background as a photographer and brand consultant comes from her personal business websites. The warning to Warpinski by Josh Vriens of a “shadow campaign” was included in NCIS files. Bernard Kerik’s description of Alpha as “mean girls” comes from his article “The Persecution of Navy Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher,” Newsmax, December 3, 2018. Statements about giving Gallagher a medal for killing ISIS were made on the One American News Network on January 30, 2019. Descriptions of the murder charge against Army Special Forces Major Matt Golsteyn come from Helene Cooper, Michael Tackett, and Taimoor Shah, “Twist in Green Beret’s Extraordinary Story: Trump’s Intervention After Murder Charges,” The New York Times, December 16, 2018. Fox host Brian Kilmeade interviewed Sean Gallagher and said, “Isn’t the goal to kill ISIS?” on Fox & Friends on February 8, 2019. Andrea called reporting by The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Andrew Dyer “salacious clickbait” on her Facebook page on January 30, 2019. The amount of money the Gallagher family earned from donations was publicly reported by the family. Andrea Gallagher appeared with the Lorance and Golsteyn families on Fox & Friends, December 22, 2018. Sean Gallagher appealed directly to the president in an op-ed article, “Plea from a Navy SEAL’s Brother: Mr. President, the System Is Broken and We Need Your Help to Fix It,” Foxnews.com, February 7, 2019. Duncan Hunter described meeting with Gallagher on The Brian Kilmeade Show, Fox News Radio, April 3, 2019. The account of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer’s conversations with the president and Navy leaders about Edward Gallagher comes from interviews with Navy officials familiar with the exchanges. The account of Donald Trump wearing a high school uniform that did not belong to him comes from a 2016 author interview with the owner of that uniform, Mike Scadron. Trump told crowds that waterboarding wasn’t good enough at a rally at Ohio University, Eastern, June 29, 2016. Trump vowed to “knock the hell out of ISIS” at a rally in South Carolina, February 17, 2016. Trump tweeted about Gallagher’s release from the brig March 30, 2019. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. tweeted about Gallagher’s release April 3, 2019. Former SEAL Rob O’Neill criticized Alpha platoon in an appearance on Fox Nation Deep Dive, February 26, 2019. Craig Miller was given a medal for saving a suicidal woman on the Coronado Bridge. The account of the rescue comes from that citation and author interviews. Accounts of Trump considering a pardon for Edward Gallagher were first reported by the author in The New York Times, May 18, 2019. Efforts by Navy officials to dissuade the president come from author interviews with people who were present. The account of leaks in the Gallagher case and the investigation that followed comes from court proceedings, author interviews with Navy officials, and a time line created by Commander Chris Czaplak that was obtained by the author.
Accounts of the trial come from the observations of the author, who was present, and from transcripts of the trial. Background on Brian John comes from interviews with people familiar with him. Background on Timothy Parlatore comes from a review of Navy records conducted by NCIS as well as from work histories Parlatore posted online. Parlatore’s statement that the mob is dead comes from the article “Mob’s Bloody Heyday Is Gone, but Violence Is Not,” Associated Press, August 16, 2016. Parlatore’s connection to Pete Hegseth and Bernard Kerik comes from author communication with Parlatore. The details of Hegseth’s marriages come from Tom Scheck, “Words and Deeds Out of Alignment for Potential Cabinet Appointment and Fox News Personality,” American Public Media, March 27, 2018. The views of the jury come from author interviews with two jury members. The revelation that one of the jurors gave a thousand dollars to Gallagher’s defense fund comes from statements that juror made to several SEALs during a training. Details of the juror’s relationship with Gallagher and Gallagher’s discussion of them with his legal team come from statements Gallagher made on The Shawn Ryan Show, December 2020. The account of Bruce Cutler being “in-house counsel” for the mob comes from Arnold H. Lubasch, “Judge Disqualifies Gotti’s Lawyer from Representing Him at Trial,” The New York Times, July 27, 1991.
Accounts of Corey Scott’s testimony come from audio and transcripts of the trial. Details of Gallagher’s legal team meeting with Scott before trial and Parlatore telling Gallagher “We got ’em!” come from an interview Timothy Parlatore gave that was published in Yaron Steinbuch, “Navy SEAL Acquitted of ISIS Murder Says Media Tried to Frame Him,” New York Post, July 3, 2019, as well as other public statements by Parlatore and Marc Mukasey acknowledging the meetings. Jeff Pietrzyk’s assumption that Scott had been woodshedded comes from interviews with Navy lawyers familiar with Pietrzyk’s thinking. Scott declined multiple requests to be interviewed for this book.
The identity of Moataz Mohamed Abdullah was found through careful reporting by the Iraqi news staff of The New York Times, and while his family is convinced he was the victim in the case against Gallagher, it is not absolutely certain. There is a competing claim by another family. Moataz was identified by a reporter hired by The New York Times who in the fall of 2019 canvassed the neighborhood of Mosul where the fighter was from. The staff was able to find Mohamed Salim and interviewed him on multiple occasions. He had identified his son independently as the victim before the Times contacted him. Mr. Salim provided information on the age of the victim, when he joined ISIS, where he was from, and how his family reacted when he joined ISIS. Mohamed provided more than a dozen photos of his son that were then compared to the photos of the stabbing victim. In addition to a general resemblance, the photos show a specific detail that Moataz and the victim had in common: A few months before joining ISIS, Moataz was injured in a blast and his right earlobe was taken off by shrapnel. Photos of both the victim and Moataz show this injury. In the fall of 2020, based on a name provided by an unnamed Iraqi security official, National Public Radio identified the victim as a different teenager, Khaled Jamal Abdullah, from a town thirty miles south of Mosul. Photo analysis of both men did not provide a conclusive match. The Navy did not respond to requests to share DNA evidence that might have provided a definitive answer.
Accounts of testimony in court come from author observations and court transcripts. Accounts of decisions by the prosecution not to call witnesses come from author interviews with Navy officials and civilian lawyers familiar with the discussions. Details of Gio Kirylo’s communications with Gallagher before trial and his fear of talking to NCIS come from NCIS notes on the communications, based on Gallagher’s phone records. Details about Kirylo visiting Gallagher before trial come from Kirylo’s testimony and NCIS records. The list of evidence barred from trial, including Brian Alazzawi’s claim that Gallagher confessed that he had killed the captive, comes from official Navy court transcripts of the hearings where that evidence was discussed. Accounts of the inside of the jury room come from author interviews with two jurors. The description of the rooftop meeting by members of Alpha comes from author interviews with multiple SEALs.
Deliberations among top Navy officials about their response to Gallagher come from author interviews with some of the officials involved. Gallagher’s post-conviction activities, including his insults of Navy officials, come from posts on his Instagram account and author interviews with SEALs. The decision to close several criminal cases in response to the Gallagher case comes from author interviews with Navy legal personnel. The tally of the lost pension payouts Gallagher faced through a demotion comes from a filing by his legal team. Pete Hegseth announced “imminent action” on Gallagher’s case on Fox & Friends, November 17, 2019. The appearance at a closed-door fundraiser of two pardoned soldiers, Clint Lorance and Matt Golsteyn, was first reported in the Miami Herald, December 9, 2019. Timothy Parlatore appeared on Fox & Friends to rebuke the Navy’s decision to take Gallagher’s Trident on November 21, 2019. Golsteyn’s identity as the officer in charge of the Special Forces team that witnessed a Navy SEAL sniper kill a farmer in Afghanistan in 2010 comes from author interviews with two soldiers in the team. Trump tweeted that the Navy would not take Gallagher’s Trident on November 21, 2019. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer was removed from his job November 24, 2019.
The description of Gallagher attending a dinner at Mar-a-Lago on December 22, 2019, comes from his Instagram account and the public posts of other guests who were there. The detail that Gallagher had flown a Trump flag on operations in Mosul comes from interviews with two SEALs. Details of Gallagher’s life after retirement come from posts on his Instagram account. His belief that his acquittal was the result of divine intervention and details about ibogaine therapy giving him a feeling of peace come from statements he made on The Shawn Ryan Show. The account of the meeting between Josh Vriens and Corey Scott comes from an author interview with Vriens. The details of the SEALs represented by Brian Ferguson who tried to contact other SEALs come from author interviews with Dille, Vriens, and other SEALs. The details of the case study presentations the Navy SEALs began presenting on the Gallagher court-martial to all lead petty officers come from author interviews with Navy SEALs.