US Navy Commander Relieved of Duty After Raising Concerns Over COVID-19

The US Navy has dismissed a ship commander who had raised the alarm about a coronavirus-stricken ship.

Navy Secretary Thomas Modly announced Thursday that Capt. Brett Crozier’s was relieved of his duty on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which had at least 114 confirmed cases of COVID-19. According to a leaked letter obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Crozier had urged Navy leadership to take “immediate and decisive” to protect 4,800 service members who are aboard the ship.

“This will require a political solution, but it is the right thing to do,” Crozier wrote in his memo seeking an evacuation of the aircraft carrier. “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.”

Days after the letter was published by the Chronicle, Modly told reporters Crozier had been relieved because he “demonstrated extremely poor judgement” during the crisis, “misrepresented the facts,” and created a “firestorm” by sending the letter to “20 or 30 other people.”

“Today at my direction the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Capt. Brett Crozier was relieved of command,” Modly said during a Pentagon press 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 … We have the proper way of handling this. What he did by doing this and not being careful with who that information went to … that’s just not acceptable. He did not take care.”