A new article about U.S. Navy war crimes, written by Special Operator 1st Class Josh Vriens, stars with the sentence “Uncompromising integrity is my standard”… and then buries this important lede.

Many have asked, “How could you turn in a brother?” Let me clarify something: Gallagher was our Chief. He made the tactical decisions and we carried them out. Gallagher repeatedly sent us to positions where SEALs and our Iraqi partner forces were wounded or killed by small arms and rockets. These weren’t SEAL tactics. These were part of Gallagher’s effort to get a SEAL injured or killed so that we would, in his words, “make it a great deployment.” In the end, Gallagher showed us he wasn’t our brother. Real brothers don’t needlessly put their men at risk. Real brothers don’t chase medals. And they certainly don’t murder unarmed prisoners or terrorize civilian populations.

Real brothers don’t chase medals.