Will Chesney, a 13-year Navy SEAL veteran who served as both an assaulter and dog handler, recently co-authored No Ordinary Dog: My Partner From the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid alongside journalist Joe Layden. The book tells the true story of Chesneys military working dog, Cairo, and their career together through training, combat, and retirement. St. Martins Press published the much-anticipated memoir on April 21, 2020. It became an instant best-seller.
In a letter dated April 21, the same day the book published, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a cease and desist order to St. Martins Press over the use of the U.S. Navy SEAL trident pin on the cover of the book. The SEAL trident is awarded to Navy sailors after graduation from the notoriously difficult SEAL selection and training pipeline, which includes the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course (commonly referred to as BUD/S), and the SEAL Qualification Training (SQT).