Commander of aircraft carrier hit by coronavirus removed for 'poor judgment' after sounding alarm. UPDATE: Navy considering reinstating Capt. Crozier to Roosevelt
Modly told reporters that Crozier was removed for showing "extremely poor judgment" and creating a "firestorm" by too widely disseminating the memo detailing his concerns, copying some 20 to 30 people.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Washington (CNN)The commander of a US aircraft carrier that has been hit by a major outbreak of coronavirus has been relieved of command for showing "poor judgment" days after writing a memo warning Navy leadership that decisive action was needed to save the lives of the ship's crew, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly announced on Thursday.
"Today at my direction the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Captain Brett Crozier, was relieved of command by carrier strike group commander Rear Admiral Stewart Baker," Modly said during a Pentagon press briefing.
Modly told reporters that Crozier was removed for showing "extremely poor judgment" and creating a "firestorm" by too widely disseminating the memo detailing his concerns, copying some 20 to 30 people.
He said Crozier was not removed because of any evidence suggesting he leaked the memo to the press, but rather for allowing "the complexity of his challenge with the Covid breakout on the ship to overwhelm his ability to act professionally when acting professionally was what was needed the most at the time."
"I have no information nor am I trying to suggest that he leaked the information. It was published in the San Francisco Chronicle. It all came as a big surprise to all of us that it was in the paper, and that's the first time I had seen it," he added.
The information in question was contained in a memo written by Crozier earlier this week to the Navy's Pacific Fleet.
Modly called Crozier's note "a blast-out email to everyone he knows."
"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," it read, three US defense officials confirmed to CNN.
Modly said Crozier was relieved because he went outside the chain of command and sent his memo over an unsecured system, adding to the chances it could be leaked.
"He sent it out pretty broadly, and in sending it out broadly he did not take care to ensure that it couldn't be leaked, and that's part of his responsibility, in my opinion," Modly said.
"I have received absolutely no pressure. I have had no communication with the White House about this," he added. "I did, when I was arriving closer to this determination yesterday, I called Secretary Esper and told him that this was the direction I was heading and he told me he would support my decision whatever that might be."
Top Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee slammed the move in a statement Thursday.
"While Captain Crozier clearly went outside the chain of command, his dismissal at this critical moment -- as the Sailors aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt are confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic -- is a destabilizing move that will likely put our service members at greater risk and jeopardize our fleet's readiness," they said.
"The COVID pandemic presents a set of new challenges and there is much we still do not know. Captain Crozier was justifiably concerned about the health and safety of his crew, but he did not handle the immense pressure appropriately. However, relieving him of his command is an overreaction," the lawmakers added.
News of Crozier's removal comes after a US defense official told CNN earlier Thursday that 114 sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the virus, representing more than 10% of all cases across the US military.
The outbreak on the ship is escalating rapidly. Last week the Pentagon confirmed three sailors on the Roosevelt had tested positive, and that number had risen to 25 two days later. It rose to at least 70 on Tuesday and more than 100 on Thursday. On Monday, a US defense official told CNN that a second US aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, is facing a "handful" of positive cases.
In his memo, Crozier implored Navy leaders to take immediate steps to address the situation.
"Decisive action is required. Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed US nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary measure," his memo said.
"This is a necessary risk. It will enable the carrier and air wing to get back underway as quickly as possible while ensuring the health and safety of our Sailors. Keeping over 4,000 young men and women on board the TR is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those Sailors entrusted to our care," Crozier added.
Modly said Wednesday that if it turned out the letter was leaked it "would violate the principles of good order and discipline if -- if -- if he were responsible for that. But, I don't know that. The fact that he wrote the letter of -- to his chain of command to express his concerns would absolutely not result in any type of retaliation. This is what we want our commanding officers to be able to do."
On Thursday, Modly asserted that the decision to remove Crozier from his post "is not one about retribution, it's about confidence. It is not an indictment of character, but rather of judgment."
"While I do take issue with the validity of some of the points in Captain Crozier's letter, he was absolutely correct in raising them," he said. "It was the way in which he did it ... that was unacceptable to me," the acting Navy secretary added.
CNN previously reported that some of the sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt will be quarantined in hotel rooms in Guam as the number of coronavirus cases aboard the carrier continues to increase.
On Wednesday Modly said 1,273 of the ship's roughly 4,800 crew members have been tested for the virus so far and the Navy was still awaiting the results of some of those tests.
He said about 1,000 sailors have been evacuated from the ship and moved ashore to Guam where the ship is currently in port.
"We already have nearly 1,000 personnel off the ship right now. And in the next couple of days we expect to have 2,700 of them off the ship," Modly told reporters at the Pentagon.
Some sailors will have to remain on the ship.
The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, said that the ship could not be evacuated in its entirety due to the need to continue to perform essential tasks such as the operation of the aircraft carrier's nuclear reactor.
He said that about 1,000 sailors would have to remain on the ship to perform, about 500 more than was proposed by Crozier in his recent memo.
"This ship has weapons on it, it has munitions on it, it has expensive aircraft, it has a nuclear power plant. It requires a certain amount of people on that ship to maintain the safety and security of the ship," Modly said.
UPDATED 16APR20: Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain of USS Theodore Roosevelt
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I'm going to catch fire from many here, but this CO needed to be relieved. Not for the letter, but for not performing his primary reason for being in command.
1) Mission...Mission...Mission! It's not for him caring about his crew, but that he put his crew above his mission.
2) Military personnel are the healthiest people in the country. Few if any sailors on the TR are hospitalized nor will die from COVID-19. Their jobs on the flight deck, handling bombs and missiles, working on nuclear reactors, landing jets are far more likely to kill them than coronavirus.
3) Missed opportunity to train and learn from a real situation. All branches train for operating in nuclear, biological, and chemical environments. Train like you fight, fight like you train. This was/is an opportunity to see if your training and procedures work.
Battles and wars are not cancelled because of illness. You have to operate no matter what. Even if the ship was down to 1/3 of it's crew it would be expected to get underway and function. We even trained for that situation.
Back in the 80's the only time you went off of the flight rotation was if you had a head-cold that effected your eustachian tubes. If you had a fever, you flew. If you were puking your guts out, you were given a bag and told to strap in. If you had bowel problems.... take your Imodium, and get your gear on.
I bow to your expertise, but it seems he was relieved because of the emails.
If your argument is so obvious, why wasnt that given as the reason? It would be a more emphatic reaffirmation of military dedication. The given reason sounds like the navy trying to maintain secrecy.
No... you're quite right. He was relieved primarily for the letter. The Navy hates to have it's dirty linen aired in public.
Think back to the extent of the coverup during the Iowa explosion in the #2 turret that killed 45. They fabricated all nature of stories in that tragic event.
The chain of command was I'm sure a problem, but that still does not justify taking a ship of war out of the line.
I read another article that Crozier had called the Pentagon several times, and at least twice talked with the Acting Secretary's Chief of Staff and had been given verbal instructions to call Modly's personal cell phone if the situation changed.
So my impression from that article was that Crozier was within the chain of command with those calls but Modly was pissed simply because Crozier didn't call him.
Had the letter not been published in the newspaper, we would have most likely never heard about these internal bickerings.
I'm not Carnac, but what O3 or O4 hasn't dreamed of taking down an O6 or higher
( or dreamed of being plucked out of Price Waterhouse to be the Navy Undersecretary (acting).
Nothing surprises me anymore.
As Fly stated - there's more here than meets the eye.
The Acting Secretary of the Navy makes it personal by trying to explain himself to the crew?
smh
I put in 23 years (Army) and I can almost guarantee that there is more to this than we will ever know.
From today's news, the Navy now knows that the virus entered the TR through normal rotations of the ships crew arriving and departing by aircraft.
Routine deliveries bringing mail and supplies aboard. Vietnam's virus outbreak was not involved.
Separately Defense Secretary Esper said Crozier's reinstatement was up to the Navy and if asked to, he would sign off on that reinstatement.
Not from me, your'e not. I happen to agree with every point you made.
I knew as soon as I heard the first leaked news report that the CO would be relieved of command. And that's the primary reason it happened, too. You send your shit up the Chain of Command and follow your mission until new orders come down. You don't air your problems in the press.
My dad said the same thing, Fly. Btw, he was only on carriers in his career in the Navy.
Gunner if I remember.
I have never been in the military yet I kind of have to disagree.
With the way this virus spreads, the whole of the vessel could contract it. When half of the people are sick with fever and can't breath properly, it is not just a matter of them sucking it up. It can be a life and death situation and also having half the crew or more not able to perform their duties, the vessel would basically be dead in the water.
This seems like something that should be being addressed and could be a ticking time bomb if kept in the dark or glossed over as some sort of acceptable loss.
It seems the crew did not agree with this decision and I doubt we are getting the whole story.
I respect your point Ender, because during my time on the boats this very easily could have been me in their shoes. But it still comes down to meeting their mission tasking.
Not many know it, but the carriers only have lifeboats for about 2/5ths of the crew. Somebody evidently decided that these bird farms would be expected to stay afloat and salvageable with 2/3rd of their crew dead or incapacitated. Those are cold numbers that everyone could do the math on, but we never talked about.
I do most definitely agree that we don't have the whole story, but going outside of your chain of command is a define ball buster. It is quite possible that the skipper tried the chain of command, and didn't get an answer.
I also think that this was a missed opportunity to put into action the procedures that the Navy has for operating in Nuclear, Biological and chemical environments. We need to know if they work, or if they need to be modified.
Regards...
I'm not military, so you may be correct. But doesn't the health of the crew effect their ability to carry out the mission?
They are all in tight enclosed spaces.
Asymptomatic crewmen may be infecting others around them without knowing it.
What percentage of crewmen need to be healthy to complete a mission?
How many ventilators does a ship have, to support even the small percentage that may suffer from the more extreme symptoms of COVID-19?
Yes military people, on the whole, are healthier than their civilian counterparts, but COVID-19 doesn't care and even healthy people sometimes need the more extreme treatments (i.e. ventilators, ICU's, etc.).
Isn't part of his job to see to the safety of his men?
If you look at it, the skipper was going to lose his command in either case.
Go outside the chain of command, or air dirty laundry....... get canned.
Start having deaths within his command...... get canned.
Twice daily reports up his chain of command with details about the growth of infection, actions taken, while continuing with his deployment mission would have been the proper action, which I can't say for sure he didn't do at this point.
Now that we've had a few days to digest the events, I'm going to question where Rear Adm. Stuart Baker was in all this fiasco as Crozier's boss. From what I'm reading in USNI News, Crozier didn't go outside of the chain of command, it was someone he CC'd that took his communication outside of the chain of command.
The State Department also has a hand in this as they are the ones that would have authorized the port call in Viet Nam while the virus was active in China.... If I had to guess, the State Department was behind it as a "Show the flag" and "hold hands" gesture, much like the Cole refueling in hostile territory....
Let's just see where this all goes.
I made a comment elsewhere that he had as guests on the TR,
RA Baker, commander Carrier Strike Group Nine
and an O-8 from 7th Fleet.
He was obviously not getting anywhere with those two.
Now Merz, the O-9 in charge of 7Th Fleet is hands on in Guam since 05April.
Merz couldn't leave it to Baker and Alquinno (sic)?
Tough week for all.
I agree, he was screwed one way or another.
Though you have to point out that he stayed within the chain of command as long as he could, until it started affecting the lives of the men under him.
And it shows the quality of man he was, that he put the health of the men under his command as priority over his own future.
I bow to your expertise as well, FLYNAVY1, but the best medicine for those men and women was just thrown off the boat.
He was clearly respected and beloved by those serving on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Low moral can have deadly consequences, as well.
The good news is that the action he chose resulted in his sailors receiving the lifesaving care they need.
In addition, and I'm sure to catch shit for this, but at some point it will be revealed that Cadet Bonespurs was behind Captain Crozier's removal.
I'm sure the CO is a hero to his crew, and I feel for them not wanting to be infected, but this is one of the hazards you sign up for even though you may not be thinking of it when you sign on the dotted line.
I doubt that many sign before they think of all the possible hazards.
"Sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt cheered for their departing captain Thursday night as he was removed from duty."
but this is one of the hazards you sign up for even though you may not be thinking of it when you sign on the dotted line.
How did Gen MacArthur once say it? I'm paraphrasing: It is you who have given up a life of ease, that the nation depends on.
You choose to believe that despite reading facts to the contrary.
Extraordinary!
it will be revealed that Cadet Bonespurs was behind Captain Crozier's removal.
I agree. there's tiny hand prints all over this debacle.
The one sailor had it right when he shouted out...."What the F***!!!"
Quite simply, you do not violate the chain-of-command. One letter/e-mail up the chain is all that was/is necessary - not 20 to everybody you know.
I've seen a number of military get their chops busted for stepping outside the chain.
I'm sorry 1st, but he didn't leak the letter.
Speaking at a news conference Thursday evening, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said Crozier was removed from his post because he sent the letter over "non-secure unclassified email" to a "broad array of people" rather than up the chain of command.
"I have no doubt in my mind that Captain Crozier did what he thought was in the best interest of the safety and well-being of his crew," Modly said. "Unfortunately, it did the opposite. It unnecessarily raised the alarm of the families of our sailors and Marines with no plans to address those concerns."
Modly insisted the that decision was his alone. He praised Crozier but said he had concluded that the captain "allowed the complexity of the challenge of the COVID breakout on the ship to overwhelm his ability to act professionally."
"The responsibility for this decision rests with me," Modly added. "I expect no congratulations for it. Captain Crozier is an incredible man."
In a statement, a group of top Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee sharply criticized the decision to remove Crozier.
“The dismissal of Captain Crozier at this critical moment, as the sailors aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt are confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, is a reckless, political move that reeks of undue command influence," read the statement from chairman Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, subcommittee chairs Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut, Rep. John Garamendi of California and Rep. Jackie Speier of California.
Former Vice President Joe Biden also blasted the Navy's acting secretary in a statement, saying that he "shot the messenger — a commanding officer who was faithful to both his national security mission and his duty to care for his sailors, and who rightly focused attention on a broader concern about how to maintain military readiness during this pandemic."
The ship, which was operating in the Pacific, pulled into port in Guam last week several days after multiple crew members tested positive for the virus. By Wednesday, there were 93 positive test results, and more than 1,000 people were taken off the carrier and placed into isolation on Guam. In total, 2,700 people are expected to disembark the ship this week, with a smaller crew remaining to maintain the carrier. Source
Also, when a man states 3 times in a prepared statement that the decision to act on a controversial matter was his alone, the odds are that the decision wasn't his alone.
I also have a problem with this part of Modly's statement: "It unnecessarily raised the alarm of the families of our sailors and Marines with no plans to address those concerns." First off, watch any of the trending videos where the sailors are showing complete support for their captain. Check out all the cell phones documenting the removal. If families were throwing a stink, it was because initial efforts taken by Captain Crozier to draw attention to the dilemma fell on deaf ears and the crew was aware of it. The odds that not a single sailor communicated to their family what was happening were pretty much slim and none.
While I admit I'm not the smartest peach in the basket, am I correct in saying that had Captain Crozier failed to follow the chain of command, he would have either been demoted, or immediately discharged from service? That he retained his rank and pay scale speaks volumes, even to my militarily-challenged mind.
SMAAB - Didn't say he "leaked" the letter - said he didn't follow the chain of commend.
"creating a "firestorm" by too widely disseminating the memo detailing his concerns, copying some 20 to 30 people."
"I have no information nor am I trying to suggest that he leaked the information. It was published in the San Francisco Chronicle. It all came as a big surprise to all of us that it was in the paper, and that's the first time I had seen it," he added."
"Speaking at a news conference Thursday evening, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said Crozier was removed from his post because he sent the letter over "non-secure unclassified email" to a "broad array of people" rather than up the chain of command."
I would like to get Ed-Nav-Doc's ideas and comments on this as I'm sure he understands the Medical Emergency Procedures much better than I.
That being said, and none of us know the procedures the CAPT followed, I would "assume" that when the first case was known, the individual(s) were placed in quarantine in a very remote part of the carrier and the good CAPT notified his superiors - that would be the normal process. If he got no response nor positive reaction, his next action should have been to reiterate his request up the chain.
One thing you never, never, never do is let your boss, in this case Acting Secretary Modly, get caught totally unawares of a negative situation and, it is apparent from the article, that is what happened. Whether or not it was CAPT Crozier's lack of pressure or someone else up the chain not responding, we don't know.
The primary point is that the CAPT did not follow the chain-of-command.
What are you talking about?
I must have misunderstood your meaning behind this:
One letter/e-mail up the chain is all that was/is necessary - not 20 to everybody you know.
Do you think that all 20-30 people he copied in the email were in his command chain?
I'm sorry. I didn't know you had an inside track on the details. Care to share the names of the 20-30 people who were copied on Captain Crozier's original email?
I'm waiting for that bit of facts as well.
If you don't know, simply say so.
No need to be sorry, either.
Do you think copying anyone other than his immediate supervisor and possibly the next one or two up, is necessary?
Trump's doctor, Dr Ronny Jackson, stated that Trump was 6'3".
Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician and a retired United States Navy rear admiral.
Do you believe that doctor lied on his own?
Chain of command is of the utmost importance, I agree completely. BUT, a carrier captain is not removed because a memo went out to more people than it should. That is a major position, only those lined up to become admirals get those positions, there had to be something else. Not just a chain of command violation.
I wonder if this was his first warning letter or if he had been rebuffed by the chain of command on earlier warnings?
The chain of command isn't infallible.
I'm sure you can guess that there is much more to this story than we are getting at this time....
Happy Friday Kavika... Please stay well.
yeah, the military is pretty good at cover-ups.
You too.
One other note.
There are currently 20 US Carriers in the fleet.
You have to be exceptional to get one of the 11 nuclear carrier commands.
Exceptional flag officers of Croziers caliber
would not do this lightly.
You are probably right, because stripping command from a carrier is a pretty big fucking deal. There is a lot more to this than a leaked memo I think.
I am with you, I think there is more to this than a leaked memo. As I said below, stripping command of a carrier is a HUGE thing. The guys who get those commands are being groomed to become admirals. A carrier captain is not removed just because of an inconvenient memo.
smh
He had spoken to the Pentagon several times in the last two weeks.
Twice to Modly's CoS who gave him Modly's cell phone #. He was supposed to report to Modly, Thats not a chain of command either.
What next, bypass everyone and just call Mr. Trump directly?
Apparently Crozier thought that they were blowing him off and weren't going to do anything.
From the Commander's point of view, he would lose this command if hundreds of sailors died or thousands were sickened,
or he would lose his job making a lot of noise about it.
One thing I learned a long time ago was to avoid verbal orders, especially with no witnesses.
SP - concur - there's too much/many unknowns going on here to make base decisions as to what the reactions should have been.
"IF", as someone above said, there were members of the crew diagnosed positive, and he did, indeed, go up the chain and did/could not receive good guidance, then someone up the chain, when caught, is gonna get their azzes totally waxed.
Don't know why, but I've got the feeling that the Acting Secretary has got a whole lot of explaining to do.
Oddly enough both Crozier (1988) and Modly (1992) graduated the Naval Academy
and both started out as SH-60B Seahawk Helo pilots.
There's tremendous competition about class rank and animosity between classes and rotations through different assignments.
Crozier made a 28 year career of the Navy.
Modly lasted 7 years and then went Wall Street coming back to the government as the confirmed Undersecretary of the Navy in 2017, "acting secretary" since Nov/2019.
It makes one wonder how often their careers crossed paths those many years ago and if it has anything to do with this weeks events.
And Modly was a finance whiz kid, both in the Navy and in civilian life. Wasn't a boat driver like Crozier - huge competition right there.
Ring-knocker paper pusher...
...vs....
Ring-knocker commander....
Somehow after 5 years in the SH 60 B Crozier transition to the F/A 18 Hornet ( a rare event )
where his call sign became,
and remains, "Chopper".
Tonight Trump seems intrigued with Crozier and all but promised to intervene...
Too right....!
It is very uncommon (I've never heard of it) to transition from rotary wing to fixed wing aircraft. The captain had to have had some special skills to make that happen. Going the other way from fixed to rotary wing would be even more unusual.
Back to the matter..... the Navy has a long history of cover-ups when it's dirty laundry is hung out in public.
funny article.
Fits someone to a tee. I never met Crozier, lol
Yep... The ring-knocker link hit the mark dead center.....
For the record.... those that rise to command a nuke bird farm are special individuals of uncommon character. You might have some connections that help, but ability previously demonstrated is what gets you there!
The acting SECNAV fuvked up his message to the crew of the TR. He should have kept his mouth shut. Typical paper pushing ring-knocker sitting in judgement of a real officer. Crozier screwed up and let things become public. His punishment is much like what happened to many skippers after Pearl Harbor.
The whole thing needs a IG review.
and then Modly resigned...
I think we all know how that will go, given Trump's feeling about IG's.
Biden did not agree with the decision and cast blame.
That right there makes Sanders the nominee.
How so?
Because Biden is against military order. A commander in chief opposed to discipline? He just failed the entrance exam.
Trump pardoned a war criminal. I don't think he has the confidence of the military given some of his decisions.
About 3,100,000 results
...
If you are that uninformed, stop posting. I'm not your goddamn tutor.
Sanders dropped out of the race today.
But you are okay with a draft dodger as CIC. All righty then.
Knock it off.... both of you. Please confine your comments surrounding the relieved skipper of the TR.....
posted from the last link, which I'm sure you didn't bother reading.
Well, no, I don't think so, but it is conduct unbecoming, usually prosecuted as mistreating the dead under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, for which Gallagher was properly reduced in rank, after miraculously escaping a rash of actual war crimes only because the witnesses recanted.
Hitting the "Forward/Reply ALL" button without thinking, can be an "Oh Shit" Moment for sure, if you didn't mean to do that. Ya just can't take that back !
Bad Judgement for sure.....especially if it was an …. "I meant to do that" thing.
For sending his memo or whatever and it going around the chain of command, fuck yeah he should be disciplined, but I do not think he should have lost his command. Especially not because of the way his crew seems to feel about him.
Command isn't a popularity contest.
He was going to loose his command one way or another......
Imagine if those under his command started to die from the virus....
Obviously he had previously informed his chain of command of the situation, and suggested actions. I'm guessing the chain of command didn't respond with anything usable so he tried the shotgun approach to the chain of command. Never good.
I have to question our shipboard procedures for operations under biological attack as being viable. If this is the best we can expect, then our ability to remain an effective fighting force under more extreme conditions is tenuous at best.
Turns out that he had an O7 & O8 aboard, one the Commander 7th fleet
Baker and Alquinno?
They would not hear of offloading the infected, so he called the Pentagon 5 times.
when that didn't work, he sent that letter.
Imagine if he had followed Bakers orders and Baker or Alquinno died?
I just picked up that the Skipper might be reinstated to the Roosevelt by the Navy….
It looks like the former SECNAV Mr. Modly was cautioned by Admiral Gilday and General Milley not to fire Captain Crozier until after an investigation into the case had been completed. Both agreed that Mr. Modly fired the captain believing it is what Mr. Trump wanted.
A couple of related articles:
French Carrier has 668 cases of Virus
Second Roosev elt sailor in intensive care with Covid-19. Crew has 950 confirmed cases.
care
And it seems that Modly lied about the number of people that were sent the memo.
He claimed between 20 and 30 when in the real world it was eleven.
Wow....
Okay... So Modly, an academy grad and a paper pusher lied about a tried and tested line officer being groomed for admirals stars. More proof that everything that Trump touches dies.
Still betting Modly will find a way to blame it on some lowly E2 or E3