A second Navy SEAL charged with war crimes in Iraq goes to court - Lt. Portier is accused of negligent leadership, destroying evidence, and lying

The second Navy SEAL implicated in war crimes allegations in Iraq has gone to court. Lieutenant Jacob “Jake” Portier, who commanded Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7 in a 2017 deployment in Iraq—the same unit to which Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher belonged—has been accused of dereliction of duty because he didn’t properly supervise Chief Gallagher and didn’t report his actions to higher leadership. In addition to that offense, Lt. Portier is being accused of performing Chief Gallagher’s reenlistment ceremony beside a dead ISIS fighter. The Navy charge sheet characterizes this action as “conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman.”

More specifically, as a result of the SEAL officer’s negligent leadership, Chief Gallagher allegedly killed a wounded, underage ISIS fighter who had been held as a prisoner of war and wounded a female non-combatant with a sniper rifle.

Furthermore, Lt. Portier is being accused of wrongfully impeding “an investigation in the case of Special Operations Chief Edward R. Gallagher, U.S. Navy, Naval Special Warfare Group ONE, by destroying evidence, and said conduct was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces.”

[link to thenewsrep.com (secure)]