U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper fired the Navy's top civilian on Sunday over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL who was convicted of battlefield misconduct in Iraq and later won the support of President Donald Trump.
Esper also determined that the sailor in question, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, should be allowed to retain his Trident pin designating him as a SEAL - effectively ending the Navy's efforts to carry out a peer review that could have ousted him from the elite force.
Trump, who publicly opposed taking away Gallagher's Trident pin and had intervened in the case to restore his rank, cheered the moves.
"Eddie will retire peacefully with all of the honors that he has earned, including his Trident Pin," Trump said on Twitter.