Another issue that appears to have compounded the NCIS investigation is that several reporters have been aggressively looking into Owen, and his former unit since his book was published.  This appears to be one of many unintended consequences since the book’s publication, and has obviously added to the current rift in the Naval Special Warfare community.

Some of our readers have asked why NCIS would investigate Owen even though he’s not presently on active duty. The answer lies with the charter of the organization itself. NCIS Special Agents are authorized by law to conduct arrests of military members and civilians alike, both on and off military installations. NCIS primarily investigates major criminal offenses punishable by more than one year’s confinement.  The true nature of their investigation is unknown to us but judging from the aggressive nature it’s taking on, it’s clearly serious in nature.

The US government is now in the undesirable position of investigating one of America’s heroes, and that’s an unpopular position for the Obama administration to be in when they have been plagued by their own intelligence leaks and political missteps (e.g. the Bergdahl handover). Owen will have his day in court, but the question that is probably on most peoples mind is, “How could America punish their own hero in-good-standing when government negligence at the highest levels of leadership continue to get a free pass.”