--- title: "A Navy SEAL was promoted to chief petty officer two months after he allegedly killed a Green Beret" date: "2020-01-29" modified: "2020-01-29" authors: - name: "Jeff Schogol" job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-seal-promoted-after-green-beret-logan-meglar-strangling/" categories: - "Africa" - "Around the World" - "Military Branches" - "Navy" - "News" tags: - "africa command" - "Leadership" - "Navy SEALs" - "scandals" - "special operations command" --- # A Navy SEAL was promoted to chief petty officer two months after he allegedly killed a Green Beret ![]() The Navy SEAL accused of strangling Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar was promoted to chief petty officer two months after Melgar's death, according to a [new report]() from The Daily Beast. Chief Special Warfare Operator Tony E. DeDolph is charged with murder for allegedly choking Melgar to death during a June 4, 2017 hazing incident in Bamako, Mali, that involved three other U.S. special operations, a British service member, and a Malian security guard. Kevin Maurer of The Daily Beast [first reported]() that DeDolph was one of the sailors who was selected to become chief petty officers in August 2017. DeDolph was frocked the following month and began receiving chief's pay that December. Indeed, Task & Purpose confirmed that DeDolph's name appeared on [the list of fiscal 2018 active-duty chief petty officer selectees]() that was included in [an Aug. 4, 2017 Navy Times story by reporter Mark Faram.]() According to his Navy biography, DeDolph officially became a chief petty officer on Dec. 16, 2017. An unnamed defense official told Maurer that DeDolph was not formally charged or a person of interest in connection with Melgar's death at the time he was promoted. The date listed on his official charge sheet is Nov. 4, 2018. Capt. Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Naval Special Warfare Command, declined to discuss why DeDolph was allowed to advance to chief petty officer shortly after Melgar's death. "I'm not going to comment on details surrounding an ongoing investigation," Lawrence said in a statement. "SOC DeDolph has remained a member of Naval Special Warfare throughout this process. It is paramount that the rights of the service member are protected, thus any additional information regarding this case will not be discussed." Phillip Stackhouse, DeDolph's attorney, had little to say about the issue when contacted by Task & Purpose, stating that the timing of when sailors get promoted depends on the command and the individual. "His command promoted him," Stackhouse said. "It's not like anything was a secret or shady that was going on. Conceivably, they could have done something different – conceivably. Like in the Marine Corps, they have the ability to delay things. For whatever reason, they didn't delay it." ## Author Jeff Schogol is the former senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reported on both the Department of Defense as a whole and individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]() ## More - [Navy SEAL Team 6 operator sentenced to 10 years over killing of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar]() - [Navy SEAL under investigation for allegedly manipulating (and hitting on) the widow of the Green Beret he helped kill]() - [A Navy SEAL and Marine Raider accused of murdering a Green Beret in Mali are due in court next week]() - [NCIS agent taken off Green Beret murder investigation for reportedly being romantically involved with a witness]() - [‘You are a disgrace to your Purple Heart’ — Green Beret’s mother rejects Navy SEAL’s apology for killing her son]() - [‘I am so very sorry that your family will now have to hurt in a similar way as I have,’ Green Beret’s widow tells Navy SEAL who helped kill her husband]() - [Navy SEAL pleads not guilty to murdering Special Forces Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar in hazing incident]() - [Navy SEAL convicted for death of Green Beret Logan Melgar has 10-year sentence ‘set aside’]()