Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy SEALs

Great incite

I am sorry to say that I initially had jumped on the "Free Eddie" bandwagon. I read his one-sided book and bought the hype without consideration of the other side in the fight. After reading Alpha, I definitely owe Josh Vriens, Dylan Dille, Craig Miller and Dalton Tolbert an apology. I'm guessing many folks do. The evidence is there, that Gallagher committed the crimes he was accused of. (He has since even confessed following his acquittal). The outcome was due solely to an inexperienced Navy prosecution team and a theatrical mob lawyer, backed by big money. From a law enforcement background, I found it difficult that the prosecution essentially "threw in the towel," after Corey Scott changed his testimony (after being granted full immunity). They reportedly felt there was nothing they could do, when it became apparent that several SEAL prosecution witnesses had either been intimidated, threatened or flat out bought off. They chose to not call several additional witnesses, fearing they would do as Scott did. What they should have done is introduce his videotaped interviews as evidence and then ask bluntly, "does THIS help your memory at all?" The last chapter is truly sad, when a former brother in arms tries to mend fences after running guys out of one of, if not the most elite fighting elements in the U.S. special operations arsenal. A great book. I just hope that Vriens and Dille realize that they did right and should be proud of their service to the country and the SEAL Teams.

I found this book to be a very good read on a very difficult subject. The clarity of the writing, the expertly researched facts and story line keep you engrossed through the entire story. A must read if you want the truth about Eddie.

A superbly written, must read for just about anybody. Those just interested in the “forever wars”, those with dreams of becoming a Navy Seal one day and those in it or out of it (“pirates" included). For me, the most amazing thing about this book, is that it’s literally for anybody, and anybody spending the time to read it, will be glad to have read it. It’s incredibly educating on a number of important, valid issues, especially valid now, with the onslaught of social media as our main source of knowledge and understanding. Be not one of those drones that searches for the answers there, read David’s book instead.

This book by New York Times reporter Dave Phillips is absolutely fantastic. It tells the full story of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher and his reckless actions in Iraq (and allusions to crimes in Afghanistan as well) and how he committed multiple war crimes and put his teammates in danger multiple times just to fulfill his need to kill people.Alpha is also the larger story of Navy SEAL culture, how it has developed over the decades from the original WWII frogmen through Vietnam and twenty years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this telling, there are "boy scouts," those who believe in maintaining loyalty to their oaths, and "pirates," or SEALs who saw their jobs as killing as many "bad guys" as possible, regardless of risk or legality. These two factions seem to be in a constant battle for influence in the larger SEAL community, and it all came to a head in the case of Gallagher and his murder trial. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is incredible.

Good book

Very well written and very thoroughly researched. The fact that Eddie Gallagher's own take, which I can only imagine is completely biased and completely revisionist is far more popular and people are lapping it up is indicative of the state we are at in society.This book should be on everyone's read list, rather than Man in the Arena because this is not only more objective but far more readable instead of by a dude who's clearly unhinged and his wife who manipulated public opinion. He's a war criminal and should not be lauded or respected

When I think of our military’s leadership, I think of officers driven to excellence, demonstrating valor, leading with integrity, being mission ready, prioritizing the health and wellbeing of the soldiers in their unit, and respecting the basic rules of military engagement.But after reading David Phillipps’s book, I think of Eddie Gallagher, the enlisted chief petty officer of the elite Navy SEAL Alpha 7 team. Gallagher was court martialed and convicted of "wrongfully posing with a human casualty,” an action that was reminiscent of supporters of a Somali warlord dragging the corpse of U.S. Staff Sgt. William Cleveland through the streets of Mogadishu in 1993. We’re not supposed to act like terrorists.Posing with corpses is some sick, twisted and dark stuff, but according to Philipps, Gallagher was exhibiting disturbing behavior and conduct unbecoming long before his selfie with a dead ISIS fighter. As chief, he led his unit by toxic example, accused of being high, drunk, reckless, insubordinate, and most disturbingly, of killing civilians.Gallagher’s criminality is the obvious story. But he was also the fall guy for the failed leadership of SEAL operations in particular, and the Navy command structure in general, who thought taking care of their own meant sweeping all his aberrant actions under the rug. They should have gotten this broken warrior some PTSD mental help (Gallagher had eight overseas deployments). What Philipps doesn’t address, and what I wanted to know, was why Gallagher’s growing pathology wasn't recognized nor addressed by his command. It was left to Gallagher's subordinates to step up. Something's rotten in the state of Denmark.

liked it all - study of seal "character" and trial of Eddie Gallagher.

Excellent reporting on an important story. The dark side of the military and loyalty, war and politics.