This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/navy-removes-aircraft-carrier-captain-who-spoke-out-about-coronavirus-response-from-post/2020/04/02/ddd4c9ae-751e-11ea-a9bd-9f8b593300d0_story.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Navy dismisses aircraft carrier captain who spoke out about coronavirus response Navy removes aircraft carrier captain who raised alarm about coronavirus response
(32 minutes later)
The Navy dismissed the captain of an aircraft carrier crippled by the coronavirus on Thursday, two days after a blunt letter that the officer wrote warning the service to get sailors off vessel more quickly created a furor.Navy Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, was relieved of command at the direction of acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly. The Navy removed the captain of an aircraft carrier crippled by the coronavirus on Thursday, two days after a blunt letter that the officer wrote warning the service to get sailors off the vessel more quickly created a furor.
The Navy removed Crozier after becoming increasingly convinced that he was involved in leaking the letter to the media to force the service to address his concerns, a defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Navy Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, was relieved of command at the direction of acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly.
Modly said that Crozier showed “poor judgment” by sending the letter by email to a group of 20 or 30 people. He did not directly accuse Crozier of leaking the letter, which was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, but noted that it appeared in Crozier’s hometown newspaper. The Navy had become increasingly convinced that Crozier was involved in leaking the letter to the media to force the service to address his concerns, a defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Modly said he had no doubt that Crozier “did what he thought was in the best interest of the safety and the well-being of his crew,” but that his decision complicated the situation for the Navy and could have emboldened adversaries to strike in the region. Modly said at the Pentagon that Crozier showed “poor judgment” by sending the letter by email to a group of 20 or 30 people. He did not directly accuse Crozier of leaking his message, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, but noted that it appeared in Crozier's hometown newspaper.
The decision comes one day after Modly said that there was nothing wrong with Crozier writing the letter, but that leaking it to the media “would be something that would violate the principles of good order and discipline.” “I could reach no other conclusion than that Capt. Crozier had allowed the complexity of his challenge with the covid breakout on his ship to overwhelm his ability to act professionally, when acting professionally was what was needed most at the time," Modly said. “We do and we should expect more from the commanding officers of our aircraft carriers.”
“How it got out into the media I don't know,” Modly said. “I don’t think anyone would ever know.” Modly added a few minutes later that he did not mean to insinuate that he knew Crozier leaked the letter and believed the captain “did what he thought was in the best interest of the safety and the well-being of his crew.”
Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.
But Modly said the letter undermined more senior Navy leaders and could have emboldened adversaries to strike in the region.
“It creates a panic, and it creates the perception that the Navy is not on the job, the government’s not on the job, and it’s just not true,” Modly said.
The decision, first reported by Reuters, comes one day after Modly said that there was nothing wrong with Crozier writing the letter but that leaking it to the media “would be something that would violate the principles of good order and discipline.”
“How it got out into the media I don't know,” Modly said. “I don’t think anyone would ever know.”
Paul Sonne and Julie Tate contributed to this report.