By official accounts, the Navy SEALs of Alpha platoon returned as heroes after their 2017 deployment to Mosul, following a vicious, bloody, and successful campaign to drive ISIS from the town. But within the platoon, a special war raged. whilst Alpha's chief, Eddie Gallagher, was being honored by the Navy for his leadership, several of his men were preparing to report him for war crimes, alleging that he'd stabbed a prisoner in cold blood and brought lethal sniper shots at unarmed civilians.
Gallagher was viewed by many young SEALs as the ultimate special operations commando. He was a battle-tested leader who had been trained as a sharpshooter, medic, and explosives specialist. Some in his unit, though, saw a darker figure in the heat of battle--a man who appeared to be coming unhinged after several deployments in America's never-ending wars. Their joy at the prospect of working with a problematic, experienced chief quickly gave way to a fear that his appetite for murder knew no bounds, and that his unpredictability was as hazardous as the enemy.
The story of a group of special operators caught in the middle of a moral crucible is told in compelling detail by Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times writer David Philipps--should they follow their pledge and swap in their chief, or should they honor the SEALs' unwritten rule of silence? It's also a wider story about how the SEAL Teams went astray after 9/11, and about the "pirate" subculture that grew up among them--a secret brotherhood that, in the midst of an interminable war with few obvious successes, made destroying itself the most important aim. Following Alpha's deployment, the investigation and trial that followed--and Gallagher's eventual acquittal on the most serious charges--would pit SEALs against SEALs, pit Navy brass against President Donald Trump, and turn Gallagher into a political litmus test in a polarized America.
A page-turning tale of battle, honor, and betrayal, Alpha may be a remarkable exposé of the fault lines fracturing a rustic that has been at war for a generation and counting.
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