The Styrous® Viewfinder: On TV 22: Capt. Brett E. Crozier & the Corona virus

April 3, 2020

On TV 22: Capt. Brett E. Crozier & the Corona virus

screen shot by Styrous®

Capt. Brett E. Crozier, who commanded the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, was fired today by Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly two days after a letter the captain wrote describing the dismal circumstances and the effect of the Corona virus on his 4,865 crew members sparked a furor after being leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle where the complete letter can be read (link below).

In the letter Crozier wrote, "This will require a political solution but it is the right thing to do, We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors." He continued, "Due to a warship’s inherent limitations of space, we are not doing this, Crozier wrote. The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating."

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly

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The reason for the firing offered by senior Pentagon officials was that Captain Crozier had not followed the chain of command in writing his letter, which found its way to newspapers. Senior Navy officials said they were protecting the historic practice that complaints and requests have to go up a formal chain of command. They argued that by sending his concerns to 20 or 30 people in a message that eventually leaked to news organizations, Captain Crozier showed he was no longer fit to lead the fast-moving effort to treat the crew and clean the ship and demonstrated "poor judgement".

When asked on Tuesday what should be done about the Roosevelt, President Trump said he would “let the military make that decision.”

Retired Admiral James G. Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told The Chronicle Tuesday in an e-mail that “we should expect more such incidents because warships are a perfect breeding ground for coronavirus.”

However, as Capt. Crozier walked down the plank to leave the Theodore Roosevelt, hundreds of the sailors who man the aircraft carrier cheered him for the bravery of his action (links below).