They said the talk in the highbays where SEALs gather before and after missions has inevitably turned to Chief Gallagher and what should happen to his Trident.

Some said it was reassuring to see a president be willing to defend a SEAL who may have done something regrettable in the confusion of combat. Others worried that Mr. Trump’s intervention would encourage rogue operators to try to escape accountability by sidestepping the chain of command and appealing directly to the White House.

The SEALs said they had sensed opinion shifting against Chief Gallagher in recent weeks because of how he campaigned for clemency on social media and Fox News. Even those who were ambivalent about the allegations against Chief Gallagher viewed his public criticism of Rear Adm. Collin Green, the commander of the SEALs, and the chief’s insulting remarks on television about a fellow SEAL chief as way out of line.

“That’s not who we are, and no one in the teams wants to see it,” said an enlisted SEAL . “Forget the movies and the books about SEALs — most of us are silent professionals. We want to be ghosts. All this exposure keeps us from doing our job.”

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‘This has started the conversation we needed to have.’

An enlisted SEAL on the East Coast said there might be a silver lining in all the attention on the Gallagher case, because it was finally casting a light on problems that the SEAL teams had kept hidden. He said a rogue element in the SEALs had been operating as if rules and standards did not apply to them, and that too often, SEALs who were overly focused on loyalty have covered up for one another.

“This has started the conversation we needed to have about accountability,” the SEAL said. “It should be on all of us. We should acknowledge our own failure and have the courage to deal with it appropriately.”