New Delhi: The US Navy has recommended the reinstatement of Captain Brett E. Crozier, who commanded the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, three weeks after he was fired for sending a letter to his commanders seeking faster action to protect his crew from a coronavirus outbreak on the ship.
However, US Defence Secretary Mark T. Esper, who was briefed on the recommendations following an internal review of the matter, has asked for more time to consider whether to sign off on reinstating the captain of the nuclear-powered carrier, The New York Times reports.
Crozier’s memo, which was leaked to the media, was seen as a violation of the chain of command. “We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die,” Crozier had said in the letter, as quoted by Bloomberg, after multiple sailors tested positive for coronavirus while the ship was posted off the Philippines.
He wrote the letter on 30 March after reportedly being rebuffed by his superiors four times even though the warship’s doctors had warned that more than 50 crew members were likely to die if immediate measures were not undertaken. He was subsequently fired by Navy secretary Thomas B. Modly on 2 April.
However, a few days later, Modly himself had to resign because of the immense backlash that followed his decision.
Also read: Indian Navy veterans slam ‘childish’ US response to Roosevelt ship incident
A command crisis and an unlikely hero
The Theodore Roosevelt incident has engulfed the US Navy in a clear command crisis and a public relations disaster.
It all began with news on 25 March of three American Navy sailors aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt — then in the Philippine Sea — testing positive for coronavirus. The three were among a 5,000-strong crew aboard the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The virus quickly spread, as expected, and more than 800 of the crew tested positive.
The NYT reported that Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday and Gen Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had both advised Modly not to remove Captain Crozier before an investigation into events aboard the Roosevelt was complete.
However, Modly ignored their advice and fired Captain Crozier, leading to widespread backlash. This criticism was further exacerbated when Modly flew to Guam, where the Roosevelt was docked, and said Captain Crozier was “too naïve or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this”.
The incident has transformed the captain into an unlikely hero, and a video of hundreds of cheering sailors yelling “Captain Crozier!” as he departed the aircraft carrier went viral.
However, President Trump’s views on the captain’s reinstatement are still unclear.
“The president’s position softened as videos of crew members extolling their captain made their way around social media. Still, it was unclear exactly where the president now stands on the reinstatement of Captain Crozier, and Mr. Esper’s decision not to immediately accept the recommendation that the captain be reinstated could reflect a fear of getting on the wrong side of his boss,” reports NYT.
Also read: 3 US Navy sailors test positive for Covid-19 aboard aircraft carrier with crew of 5,000