re: Aircraft carrier captain to be removed from duty

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The captain of an aircraft carrier struggling with a coronavirus outbreak has been relieved from command after a letter he penned pleading for help leaked to the media.

“Today at my direction the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Capt. Brett Crozier was relieved of command,” acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly announced Thursday at a Pentagon briefing.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Capt. Crozier did what he thought was in the best interest of the safety and well being of his crew. Unfortunately it did the opposite,” Modly added, saying it panicked families of sailors on board and gave information about the ship’s capabilities to America’s adversaries. “In my judgment, relieving him of command was in the best interest of the United States Navy and the nation in this time when the nation needs the Navy to be strong and confident in the face of adversity.”

Modly said there was no pressure from the White House to fire Crozier and that Defense Secretary Mark Esper supported the decision.

In a brief statement alongside Modly, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said he supported Modly’s decision.

“Make no mistake, nobody cares more about our sailors and those aboard the Theodore Roosevelt than our leadership in the Navy,” Gilday said. “Our sailors deserve the best leadership that we can absolutely provide.”

Crozier wrote a letter to Navy leaders that was obtained and published by the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday, in which he warned of dire consequences if most of the sailors on Roosevelt aren’t evacuated.

Modly, who noted the Chronicle is the captain’s hometown paper, said he does not know if Crozier is the one who leaked it, but that he sent the letter to dozens of people and therefore didn’t do his responsibility to ensure it wasn’t leaked.

“It was copied to 20 or 30 other people. That's just not acceptable. He did not take care and what that did is it created a little bit of a panic on the ship,” Modly said. “And at the same time, the families here in the United States were panicked about the reality.”

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