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The Navy terminated from service a captain of the US Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday, four days after he begged for help as his crew was getting sick from the coronavirus, the Navy disclosed.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly confirmed that it had fired Navy Capt. Brett Crozier for "lack of confidence." The captain "exercised very bad judgement," Modly said.
The ship commander had sent a letter of urgency to the United States Navy on Sunday, trying to evacuate and separate his crew as the aircraft carrier has encountered rising cases of coronavirus infection.
"Decisive action" was required to prevent men and women from dying from the coronavirus, Crozier wrote. The close quarters of the ship kept sailors from following instructions to keep them safe.
According to Modly, by delivering the letter to a group of men, Crozier had broken military rules in circumventing the chain of command. Modly said that while he did not find out how the letter finally made its way to the media, his questions were "properly addressed."
The letter was sent over insecure, unclassified email despite that ship has some of the fleet's most advanced communications and encryption equipment, Modly said.
Two days after the captain's letter was leaked, the dismissal revealed how the coronavirus has affected all kinds of U.S. agencies, including those accustomed to hazardous and complicated operations such as the U.S. military.
Crozier's dismissal may have a chilling impact on those in the Navy trying to draw attention to the challenges faced at a time when the Pentagon is hiding some comprehensive data on coronavirus infections to avoid damaging the impression of US military readiness for a crisis or war.
Modly said Thursday, before Crozier sent his message, that the Navy had been supporting the nuclear-powered carrier speedily.
Democrats heading the House Armed Forces panel lambasted Modly for Crozier's termination. In issuing his letter, the lawmakers admitted Crozier mistakenly went beyond the chain of command, but deemed his firing an overreaction.
According to Democrats, led by Washington Congressman Adam Smith, throwing the commander overboard without a thorough investigation will not fix the the crisis on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
To disseminate classified and unclassified information, the Defense Department uses two distinct network systems - the Hidden Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPR) and the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router (NIPR).
After Crozier's letter was written, sailors were rotated off the ship at Guam. Approximately 2,700 of them are expected to be taken off in the days to come, with others being moved to nearby hotels.
