The Theodore Roosevelt episode was no isolated incident, but a portent of worse to come
Andrew Milburn
The recent imbroglio involving the firing of the Captain of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and the subsequent resignation by Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly, has provided a spectacle of theater to rival the Tiger King in capturing the attention of a quarantine weary country.
The incident began when the Roosevelt’s commanding officer, Captain Crozier, concerned about the pace of the Navy’s response to an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard his ship, wrote an e-mail to colleagues that was subsequently leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Now it appears that Modly misrepresented the dissemination of Crozier’s e mail as being significantly more careless than the distribution list implied. It was addressed to Crozier’s commanding officer, Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. John Aquilino, and Naval Air Forces commander Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller, thus invalidating Modly’s claim that Crozier had bypassed his chain of command. Nevertheless, Modly relieved Crozier of his duties.
Crozier departed the ship in Guam amidst a well-publicized send-off by his crew who evidently held him in high regard. Then, in a bizarre sequel, Modly, apparently angered by this display of loyalty and determined to stay in the good graces of the White House, flew to Guam and addressed the ship’s crew in a terms that were at best intemperate and at times insulting to their former commanding officer. To make matters worse, despite his long trip from the United States at great cost to the taxpayer, Modly spent less than 30 minutes on board, and made no attempt to visit with the crew. After the Secretary’s speech was made public, Modly offered first an apology, then his resignation.
Andrew Milburn retired in March 2019 as the Chief of Staff at Special Operations Command Central. Over a 31-year career he commanded Marine and Special Operations forces in combat at every rank. He is the author of When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the fight against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at war.
https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/04/18/the-theodore-roosevelt-episode-was-no-isolated-incident-but-a-portent-of-worse-to-come/
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