Capt. Brett E. Crozier

[KBecks]

The report from the ship so far is that there have been no hospitalizations. That may change, but none to date.

[mm1970]

I'm thinking he probably has some FU money.  FU money, even before FI, was very important to me early in my career.  Everyone knew I didn't put up with BS, and respected me for it.  I feel the confidence it gave me even led to promotions.  It's great to be able to do the right thing without worrying about paying the bills!  I wish Capt. Crozier the best in his retirement or second career!

Well, according to public information, Captain Crozier graduated from the USNA in 1992. Therefore, he has nearly 28 years of service in.

An O-6 with over 26 years is making $144,360 per year.

Retirement pay is 2.5% per year of service (High 36 months), so he'll get very slightly under 70% of that as retirement pay. So, right around $100k per year for life, with inflation adjustments and Tricare medical.

Financially, he should be fine...

https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/lcc19/Pages/Bio1-9June2017-16June2018.aspx
https://www.military-ranks.org/navy/captain-pay

Aw, he's my age!

My fellow former Navy ROTC/ college buddies and I are joking that we need a gofundme to buy beers for one of our classmates, who is also the CO of an aircraft carrier, after all this settles.

[GuitarStv]

The report from the ship so far is that there have been no hospitalizations. That may change, but none to date.

Looks like the actions he took to safeguard his crew were successful then.

[John Galt incarnate!]

Acting Navy secretary blasts ousted aircraft carrier Capt. Brett

mercurynews
3 hours ago

 The Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly blasted the now ... Brett Crozier, was either “too naive or too stupid” to be in command or ... Modly went on to say it was a “betrayal of trust, with me, with his chain of command.”.

[ROF Expat]

Acting Navy secretary blasts ousted aircraft carrier Capt. Brett

mercurynews
3 hours ago

 The Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly blasted the now ... Brett Crozier, was either “too naive or too stupid” to be in command or ... Modly went on to say it was a “betrayal of trust, with me, with his chain of command.”.

He also reportedly gave the crew grief for cheering off their Captain. 
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-secretary-blasts-fired-aircraft-carrier-captain

[rockstache]

I think none of us know.  I think it's kind of unfair to him and to the people around him and who made the decision to make definitive statements either way. 

Being in military command is a special kind of pressure that no one who has been through it can quite understand.  And there's absolutely a trend in the military to roll the shit up or down hill as necessary until it hits the commanding officer.  (No, I have never been one but I did just share dinner with a former one.)

We all have thoughts on the appropriateness of the letter, the way the letter was sent, and the decisions that follow.  And in reality, none of us have any idea.  None of us are privy to even much of, much less most or all of, the information required to form an educated opinion on what went down.

+1.  I don't think I can have much of an opinion on the Captain's actions based on what little I see in the media.  I expect the Navy will investigate in exhaustive detail and issue a report. 

I do feel comfortable making a couple of observations, though. 

First, you don't get to be the Captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier without having demonstrated sustained superior performance for the previous couple of decades.  That is the kind of job you give to an O-6 who you are grooming for O-7 and beyond, not someone you expect to retire afterwards.  So, I feel very comfortable giving Crozier the benefit of the doubt in terms of credibility.  He can be assumed to know what appropriate procedures are and what the consequences would be if he did, in fact, choose not to follow those procedures. 

Second, the idea that young, fit sailors are likely to suffer fewer complications from Covid than the population at large seems logical.  The only thing I would observe is that as big as an aircraft carrier is, it is very crowded when it has its full complement of around 6,000 people aboard.  There isn't much space in which to isolate people who have a contagious virus and there isn't a medical facility designed to deal with a pandemic. 

I believe the Captain very likely found himself in a position with several choices, all unattractive.  I can imagine a scenario in which the Captain believes he has cases on board and then has to look a few weeks into the future.  He might have a situation in which few sailors are seriously ill, and life goes on.  Or he might have a situation in which a significant number of sailors are unable to do their jobs and/or his medical facilities are overwhelmed, potentially putting his ship and crew in danger.  In wartime, the decision would be easy.  The mission comes first.  In peacetime, there are likely pulls in different directions.  Yes, you have to follow orders, but a Captain is also responsible for the safety and well-being of the crew, and is expected to show good judgment.  If thousands of sailors had fallen ill and some had died, would the Navy commend him for "following orders?"  The responsibility of command is the key concept here.  People focus on the fun parts of being in charge, but usually forget about the loneliness of command when hard decisions have to be made.  Captain Crozier will be formally judged by the Navy for his actions, and I have no idea what they will say.  He will also be informally judged by his peers, his sailors, politicians, media pundits, and the public at large.  He will probably care more about the first two than the others.  But he will also judge himself, and I rather suspect that he will have no problem looking at himself in the mirror in the morning.

Great post. In the end, I think Modly is the one who will go down in history as the villain. Not saying that's right or wrong, but personally I'm feeling pretty happy that I don't fall under his jurisdiction anymore.

[bigblock440]

Given Trump's utter failure in leadership-  about a month ago, Trump was still calling concern about the coronavirus a “hoax,”

No, he didn't.  Even liberal Snopes.com agrees that he did not call the virus a hoax, he called the Democrats using the administration's response as a new impeachment effort as the hoax.       

Is this the article you reference? Because calling the virus a hoax is not what dang1 said. Read again.^

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-remark/

And as it turns out, it definitely wasn't a hoax. Those Democrats (and scientists, and other countries, and anyone paying attention) were legitimately worried that the virus was coming and Trump was in denial. Now we know that he was in fact underestimating the virus and failing to take action when it was needed. The criticism from Democrats was warranted.

That a few other people said something foolish somewhere along the way pales in comparison to the President of the United States lying and contradicting himself (and the CDC, and scientific advisors, and lots of other people far more knowledgeable about the situation) on a regular basis.

Some politicians in New York said something dumb. Joe Biden said something dumb. Dr. Fauci said something sort of incorrect over 2 months ago.

Is that really the best comparison you can muster?

So what and when should orange man have done whatever it is he should have done, and would you have called it racist at the time?

[Gin1984]

Given Trump's utter failure in leadership-  about a month ago, Trump was still calling concern about the coronavirus a “hoax,”

No, he didn't.  Even liberal Snopes.com agrees that he did not call the virus a hoax, he called the Democrats using the administration's response as a new impeachment effort as the hoax.       

Is this the article you reference? Because calling the virus a hoax is not what dang1 said. Read again.^

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-remark/

And as it turns out, it definitely wasn't a hoax. Those Democrats (and scientists, and other countries, and anyone paying attention) were legitimately worried that the virus was coming and Trump was in denial. Now we know that he was in fact underestimating the virus and failing to take action when it was needed. The criticism from Democrats was warranted.

That a few other people said something foolish somewhere along the way pales in comparison to the President of the United States lying and contradicting himself (and the CDC, and scientific advisors, and lots of other people far more knowledgeable about the situation) on a regular basis.

Some politicians in New York said something dumb. Joe Biden said something dumb. Dr. Fauci said something sort of incorrect over 2 months ago.

Is that really the best comparison you can muster?

So what and when should orange man have done whatever it is he should have done, and would you have called it racist at the time?

Use the PCR testing instructions from the WHO, starting testing everyone who came into the country. Believe China when they said their experience said asymptomatic people could pass the virus. And none of that is racist.  I'm not sure why you think someone would need to racist to combat this.

[ROF Expat]

I think none of us know.  I think it's kind of unfair to him and to the people around him and who made the decision to make definitive statements either way. 

Being in military command is a special kind of pressure that no one who has been through it can quite understand.  And there's absolutely a trend in the military to roll the shit up or down hill as necessary until it hits the commanding officer.  (No, I have never been one but I did just share dinner with a former one.)

We all have thoughts on the appropriateness of the letter, the way the letter was sent, and the decisions that follow.  And in reality, none of us have any idea.  None of us are privy to even much of, much less most or all of, the information required to form an educated opinion on what went down.

+1.  I don't think I can have much of an opinion on the Captain's actions based on what little I see in the media.  I expect the Navy will investigate in exhaustive detail and issue a report. 

I do feel comfortable making a couple of observations, though. 

First, you don't get to be the Captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier without having demonstrated sustained superior performance for the previous couple of decades.  That is the kind of job you give to an O-6 who you are grooming for O-7 and beyond, not someone you expect to retire afterwards.  So, I feel very comfortable giving Crozier the benefit of the doubt in terms of credibility.  He can be assumed to know what appropriate procedures are and what the consequences would be if he did, in fact, choose not to follow those procedures. 

Second, the idea that young, fit sailors are likely to suffer fewer complications from Covid than the population at large seems logical.  The only thing I would observe is that as big as an aircraft carrier is, it is very crowded when it has its full complement of around 6,000 people aboard.  There isn't much space in which to isolate people who have a contagious virus and there isn't a medical facility designed to deal with a pandemic. 

I believe the Captain very likely found himself in a position with several choices, all unattractive.  I can imagine a scenario in which the Captain believes he has cases on board and then has to look a few weeks into the future.  He might have a situation in which few sailors are seriously ill, and life goes on.  Or he might have a situation in which a significant number of sailors are unable to do their jobs and/or his medical facilities are overwhelmed, potentially putting his ship and crew in danger.  In wartime, the decision would be easy.  The mission comes first.  In peacetime, there are likely pulls in different directions.  Yes, you have to follow orders, but a Captain is also responsible for the safety and well-being of the crew, and is expected to show good judgment.  If thousands of sailors had fallen ill and some had died, would the Navy commend him for "following orders?"  The responsibility of command is the key concept here.  People focus on the fun parts of being in charge, but usually forget about the loneliness of command when hard decisions have to be made.  Captain Crozier will be formally judged by the Navy for his actions, and I have no idea what they will say.  He will also be informally judged by his peers, his sailors, politicians, media pundits, and the public at large.  He will probably care more about the first two than the others.  But he will also judge himself, and I rather suspect that he will have no problem looking at himself in the mirror in the morning.

Great post. In the end, I think Modly is the one who will go down in history as the villain. Not saying that's right or wrong, but personally I'm feeling pretty happy that I don't fall under his jurisdiction anymore.

Modly's statements in his speech make me even more interested in seeing what an official investigation will reveal.  I wonder how the sailors responded.   

[ministashy]

Modly's statements in his speech make me even more interested in seeing what an official investigation will reveal.  I wonder how the sailors responded.

There's a recording of the entire 15 minute speech in several places on the internet, and you can hear some of the sailors' reactions on the recording.  Needless to say, they're not positive.

[beltim]

5% or more hospitalization rate among the demographical age and fitness level of a military ship?  That doesn't sound accurate.

50% of people in ICUs in the USA from this virus were 20-44. So yes we can expect about 20% to need hospitalization.  More to be extremely ill, but not ill enough to need hospital care.

Perhaps.  But I think there's something to be said for the fact that active duty sailors are certainly in better physical condition than the average American, certainly.  Besides the fact that they maintain weight and fitness standards, many medical conditions are also disqualifying.  So it's almost certain that they would fare better.   The general population has that 40 year old who had a kidney transplant, the 300 pound 30 year old, the 28 year old with a bad ticker, and the 42 year old with severe asthma. The Navy, in an operational command, does not.   That said, certainly healthy young people are being hospitalized, and even dying.

20% might be high, but 10% is entirely reasonable.  6-7% of 18-64 year olds without any underlying health conditions require hospitalization without admission to the ICU, and another 2% of that group requires admission to the ICU, for a total hospitalization of 8-9%.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6913e2.htm?mod=article_inline

[GuitarStv]

Given Trump's utter failure in leadership-  about a month ago, Trump was still calling concern about the coronavirus a “hoax,”

No, he didn't.  Even liberal Snopes.com agrees that he did not call the virus a hoax, he called the Democrats using the administration's response as a new impeachment effort as the hoax.       

Is this the article you reference? Because calling the virus a hoax is not what dang1 said. Read again.^

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-remark/

And as it turns out, it definitely wasn't a hoax. Those Democrats (and scientists, and other countries, and anyone paying attention) were legitimately worried that the virus was coming and Trump was in denial. Now we know that he was in fact underestimating the virus and failing to take action when it was needed. The criticism from Democrats was warranted.

That a few other people said something foolish somewhere along the way pales in comparison to the President of the United States lying and contradicting himself (and the CDC, and scientific advisors, and lots of other people far more knowledgeable about the situation) on a regular basis.

Some politicians in New York said something dumb. Joe Biden said something dumb. Dr. Fauci said something sort of incorrect over 2 months ago.

Is that really the best comparison you can muster?

So what and when should orange man have done whatever it is he should have done, and would you have called it racist at the time?

Use the PCR testing instructions from the WHO, starting testing everyone who came into the country. Believe China when they said their experience said asymptomatic people could pass the virus. And none of that is racist.  I'm not sure why you think someone would need to racist to combat this.

How about "not turn down the free tests the US was offered".  The shortage of tests early on in the US was entirely due to Trump's inexplicably stupid decision to refuse help and wait for American companies to reinvent the wheel.

[Kris]

Mosly had to issue an apology last night.

It’s not every day someone travels 8,000 miles for the sole purpose of doing a colossal face-plant.

[Davnasty]

Given Trump's utter failure in leadership-  about a month ago, Trump was still calling concern about the coronavirus a “hoax,”

No, he didn't.  Even liberal Snopes.com agrees that he did not call the virus a hoax, he called the Democrats using the administration's response as a new impeachment effort as the hoax.       

Is this the article you reference? Because calling the virus a hoax is not what dang1 said. Read again.^

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-coronavirus-rally-remark/

And as it turns out, it definitely wasn't a hoax. Those Democrats (and scientists, and other countries, and anyone paying attention) were legitimately worried that the virus was coming and Trump was in denial. Now we know that he was in fact underestimating the virus and failing to take action when it was needed. The criticism from Democrats was warranted.

That a few other people said something foolish somewhere along the way pales in comparison to the President of the United States lying and contradicting himself (and the CDC, and scientific advisors, and lots of other people far more knowledgeable about the situation) on a regular basis.

Some politicians in New York said something dumb. Joe Biden said something dumb. Dr. Fauci said something sort of incorrect over 2 months ago.

Is that really the best comparison you can muster?

So what and when should orange man have done whatever it is he should have done, and would you have called it racist at the time?

Use the PCR testing instructions from the WHO, starting testing everyone who came into the country. Believe China when they said their experience said asymptomatic people could pass the virus. And none of that is racist.  I'm not sure why you think someone would need to racist to combat this.

At a bare minimum he could have not lied about how dangerous the virus was and not framed legitimate concern of the virus as a political hoax and we would be far better off right now. He could have done nothing and gotten out of the way while the adults handled the situation.

If everyone had taken this seriously from the beginning and taken simple precautions like limiting hand shakes and washing their hands more often we could have reduced the severity of the current situation and those measures wouldn't have had an economic impact. They are essentially cost free ways to save lives and yet Trump was encouraging people to ignore these basic measures out of spite.

Beyond that there are lots of more specific action we could discuss, but if you're still asking what Trump did wrong that conversation probably wouldn't be a productive one.

[waltworks]

Odds Biden picks him for VP?

-W

[hops]

Mosly had to issue an apology last night.

It’s not every day someone travels 8,000 miles for the sole purpose of doing a colossal face-plant.

... And, per CNN's breaking news, reportedly resigning (or rather, offering to resign) in disgrace.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/politics/modly-resign-crozier-esper-trump/index.html

Edited to add a more detailed article:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/thomas-modly-coronavirus-speech-resign-navy-172625

[Telecaster]

Mosly had to issue an apology last night.

It’s not every day someone travels 8,000 miles for the sole purpose of doing a colossal face-plant.

... And, per CNN's breaking news, reportedly resigning (or rather, offering to resign) in disgrace.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/politics/modly-resign-crozier-esper-trump/index.html

Edited to add a more detailed article:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/thomas-modly-coronavirus-speech-resign-navy-172625

Even if the firing was justified, Modly's comments were the words of a damn fool.  We can't afford to have damn fools in jobs like his. 

[waltworks]

In what kind of bizarro world does someone decide to fly to Guam to make that speech? Who on earth has that bad of judgement?

-W

[Travis]

In what kind of bizarro world does someone decide to fly to Guam to make that speech? Who on earth has that bad of judgement?

-W

According to Modly, the guy he just fired.

[HPstache]

Odds Biden picks him for VP?

-W

0 +/-0.1%

[Abe]

Do you think he gets to keep the frequent flier miles? Otherwise that was the most expensive multi-continent freak out nonsense ever. Not unexpected from a Trump cabinet member, but wow!

[afox]

The price of being an incompetent idiot:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/08/navy-secretary-trip-roosevelt-cost-243-000-leads-modly-ouster/2973486001/

[hops]

The price of being an incompetent idiot:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/08/navy-secretary-trip-roosevelt-cost-243-000-leads-modly-ouster/2973486001/

I came here hoping someone had shared that link. Incredible.

[Telecaster]

There is a certain amount of irony that Modly berated Crozier for being too "naive and too stupid" for not knowing his email to 30 people might be made public, then gave a speech to 5,000 people and didn't think it would be made public. 

[waltworks]

To me, this seems like something someone does who doesn't have any real friends.

If I tell any friend of mine about my plan to get on a flight to Guam to chew out 5000 people who, just recently, were cheering for the person I'm going to also chew out... my friend is going to settle my hash on that one right quick. Because I have friends who aren't morons and have my best interests (generally) in mind.

If, on the other hand, I just hang out by myself, I could spend that whole flight daydreaming about the montage of sailors cheering for me as I throw their captain under the bus.

So, this makes me a little sad while at the same time it makes me laugh.

-W

[Michael in ABQ]

This article provides some pretty good insights if you're willing to look past the sound bites and pre-conceived notions of what happened. However, the author is a friend of the recently resigned acting Secretary of the Navy - so obviously it's got it's own spin on it.

CAPT Crozier's boss (Admiral in command of the Carrier Group) was literally down the hall - and he was given the personal cell phone number for the Secretary of the Navy. He apparently ignored both those channels and sent out this letter in the least secure way possible. A letter that provided no indication of the effectiveness of the steps being taken already and was basically meant to be leaked to the press. This wasn't a case of where he was being stonewalled and this letter was a cry for help. He was getting help, people above him were asking what else he needed, and instead of giving them any time to actually get stuff done he decided to throw them under the bus because he was worried if he brought up the concerns he voiced in his letter that he would be told to be quiet.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/04/08/lessons_on_leadership_from_the_uss_theodore_roosevelt_115183.html

By Sunday, March 29th, Roosevelt CO Brett Crozier had become increasingly alarmed about the threat of a rampant outbreak aboard the ship, with the entirety of the crew all on board in close quarters while docked at the Apra Harbor naval base. In an email interchange with Secretary Modly’s chief of staff Bob Love that day, though, Mr. Love asked Crozier what he needed: Love detected “no alarm bells, no hair on fire,” Secretary Modly relayed to David Ignatius of the Washington Post. Captain Crozier merely answered “just speed,” when pressed for specific critical needs, and to “get people off the ship as fast as we could.” Following orders from Mr. Modly, Love gave Crozier the acting secretary’s personal cellphone number and told him to call 24/7 if he needed anything more.

Yet the next day, Monday, March 30, an exasperated and deeply-worried Crozier sent his 4-page letter to approximately 20 recipients via unsecured email, bypassing the carrier strike group commander, Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, berthed just 15 feet down his passageway on the Roosevelt. Additionally, the Roosevelt CO chose to ignore the carrier's hyper-secure communications facilities with instantaneous access to Pearl Harbor, San Diego, and Washington, and also disregarded the personal cellphone number of Acting SECNAV Modly, given him the day before, for immediate direct access to the top of his chain of command. That same day, Modly’s chief of staff, Mr. Love, called Captain Crozier a second time, as follow-up, but heard no new requests or concerns, nor any notice of the frantic letter which appeared the next day, Tuesday, March 31, in the San Francisco Chronicle (which happens to be Crozier’s hometown newspaper). …

… Modley taked to Captain Crozier directly on Wednesday, April 1, and Crozier admitted he had avoided Admiral Baker or his other communication options [again, including the highly unusual opportunity to call Secretary Modly directly, 24/7, for anything needed, and again, having shown no outsized concern to Mr. Love on the phone within hours of emailing out his letter to a broad audience in an unsecured manner]. Crozier reiterated to Modly only that he felt the situation was urgent and did not want to be told to not send out his “distress flare.”

[Kris]

This article provides some pretty good insights if you're willing to look past the sound bites and pre-conceived notions of what happened.

CAPT Crozier's boss (Admiral in command of the Carrier Group) was literally down the hall - and he was given the personal cell phone number for the Secretary of the Navy. He ignored both those channels and sent out this letter in the least secure way possible. A letter that provided no indication of the effectiveness of the steps being taken already and was basically meant to be leaked to the press. This wasn't a case of where he was being stonewalled and this letter was a cry for help. He was getting help, people above him were asking what else he needed, and instead of giving them any time to actually get stuff done he decided to throw them under the bus because he was worried if he brought up the concerns he voiced in his letter that he would be told to be quiet.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/04/08/lessons_on_leadership_from_the_uss_theodore_roosevelt_115183.html

By Sunday, March 29th, Roosevelt CO Brett Crozier had become increasingly alarmed about the threat of a rampant outbreak aboard the ship, with the entirety of the crew all on board in close quarters while docked at the Apra Harbor naval base. In an email interchange with Secretary Modly’s chief of staff Bob Love that day, though, Mr. Love asked Crozier what he needed: Love detected “no alarm bells, no hair on fire,” Secretary Modly relayed to David Ignatius of the Washington Post. Captain Crozier merely answered “just speed,” when pressed for specific critical needs, and to “get people off the ship as fast as we could.” Following orders from Mr. Modly, Love gave Crozier the acting secretary’s personal cellphone number and told him to call 24/7 if he needed anything more.

Yet the next day, Monday, March 30, an exasperated and deeply-worried Crozier sent his 4-page letter to approximately 20 recipients via unsecured email, bypassing the carrier strike group commander, Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, berthed just 15 feet down his passageway on the Roosevelt. Additionally, the Roosevelt CO chose to ignore the carrier's hyper-secure communications facilities with instantaneous access to Pearl Harbor, San Diego, and Washington, and also disregarded the personal cellphone number of Acting SECNAV Modly, given him the day before, for immediate direct access to the top of his chain of command. That same day, Modly’s chief of staff, Mr. Love, called Captain Crozier a second time, as follow-up, but heard no new requests or concerns, nor any notice of the frantic letter which appeared the next day, Tuesday, March 31, in the San Francisco Chronicle (which happens to be Crozier’s hometown newspaper). …

… Modley taked to Captain Crozier directly on Wednesday, April 1, and Crozier admitted he had avoided Admiral Baker or his other communication options [again, including the highly unusual opportunity to call Secretary Modly directly, 24/7, for anything needed, and again, having shown no outsized concern to Mr. Love on the phone within hours of emailing out his letter to a broad audience in an unsecured manner]. Crozier reiterated to Modly only that he felt the situation was urgent and did not want to be told to not send out his “distress flare.”

Good lord, the histrionic hand-wringing language in that article! LMAO!

[Lews Therin]

I'm curious if we'll get crozier's side.

From the outside, it looks like he knew the navy would never act fast enough.

It would be interesting to know his thought process.

But not talking to his boss... That would indeed be a weird choice if it didn't happen. (Don't they have weekly/daily meeting to confirm states of readiness, manning levels?)

[former player]

This article provides some pretty good insights if you're willing to look past the sound bites and pre-conceived notions of what happened.

CAPT Crozier's boss (Admiral in command of the Carrier Group) was literally down the hall - and he was given the personal cell phone number for the Secretary of the Navy. He ignored both those channels and sent out this letter in the least secure way possible. A letter that provided no indication of the effectiveness of the steps being taken already and was basically meant to be leaked to the press. This wasn't a case of where he was being stonewalled and this letter was a cry for help. He was getting help, people above him were asking what else he needed, and instead of giving them any time to actually get stuff done he decided to throw them under the bus because he was worried if he brought up the concerns he voiced in his letter that he would be told to be quiet.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/04/08/lessons_on_leadership_from_the_uss_theodore_roosevelt_115183.html

By Sunday, March 29th, Roosevelt CO Brett Crozier had become increasingly alarmed about the threat of a rampant outbreak aboard the ship, with the entirety of the crew all on board in close quarters while docked at the Apra Harbor naval base. In an email interchange with Secretary Modly’s chief of staff Bob Love that day, though, Mr. Love asked Crozier what he needed: Love detected “no alarm bells, no hair on fire,” Secretary Modly relayed to David Ignatius of the Washington Post. Captain Crozier merely answered “just speed,” when pressed for specific critical needs, and to “get people off the ship as fast as we could.” Following orders from Mr. Modly, Love gave Crozier the acting secretary’s personal cellphone number and told him to call 24/7 if he needed anything more.

Yet the next day, Monday, March 30, an exasperated and deeply-worried Crozier sent his 4-page letter to approximately 20 recipients via unsecured email, bypassing the carrier strike group commander, Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, berthed just 15 feet down his passageway on the Roosevelt. Additionally, the Roosevelt CO chose to ignore the carrier's hyper-secure communications facilities with instantaneous access to Pearl Harbor, San Diego, and Washington, and also disregarded the personal cellphone number of Acting SECNAV Modly, given him the day before, for immediate direct access to the top of his chain of command. That same day, Modly’s chief of staff, Mr. Love, called Captain Crozier a second time, as follow-up, but heard no new requests or concerns, nor any notice of the frantic letter which appeared the next day, Tuesday, March 31, in the San Francisco Chronicle (which happens to be Crozier’s hometown newspaper). …

… Modley taked to Captain Crozier directly on Wednesday, April 1, and Crozier admitted he had avoided Admiral Baker or his other communication options [again, including the highly unusual opportunity to call Secretary Modly directly, 24/7, for anything needed, and again, having shown no outsized concern to Mr. Love on the phone within hours of emailing out his letter to a broad audience in an unsecured manner]. Crozier reiterated to Modly only that he felt the situation was urgent and did not want to be told to not send out his “distress flare.”

Good lord, the histrionic hand-wringing language in that article! LMAO!

If you read it carefully, the first paragraph is wholly based on what a Washington Post reporter says that Acting Secretary Modly told him that his Chief of Staff, Mr Love told him that Capt. Crozier told him on Sunday 29th March.

The second paragraph says that Capt. Crozier's immediate boss, Rear Admiral Baker, had his berth 15 feet away from Capt. Crozier's.  Inquiring minds want to know why Rear Admiral Baker seems to have been entirely missing in action throughout the whole story.  Why wasn't he taking any action?  He was on the same ship, he can hardly have been unaware.  There is an untold story about his apparent failures to involve himself in any communications and actions - the only indication we have about Rear Admiral Baker is the statement in the third paragraph that Capt Crozier apparently felt he was an obstacle to getting anything urgent done, or even sending out a message about the need to get something done.

[partgypsy]

I would not be surprised at all if there were informal requests for help or change that Capt Crozier did, that were shut down or ignored by immediate superior officer or officers. That's what that story is missing. But we may not hear that side.

[waltworks]

Given what we now know about Modly, I wouldn't have bothered calling his cell either...

Lots of things don't make sense in the story unless you assume either:
1) Crozier is stupid/naive or crazy.
or
2) Superiors were dragging their feet all the way up, or the folks at the top (ie, Modly) didn't want to take action and Crozier decided his only option was to go nuclear.

If Crozier suddenly lost his mind and decided to tell all his Facebook friends to embarrass the administration, that explains some stuff. I'm a bit dubious about that whole idea, but it's possible.

If Modly didn't want the navy/administration to be embarrassed somehow and was trying to sweep the whole situation under the rug, that also explains things fairly well.

I guess you could have a combination of factors where Crozier isn't getting the response he wants/needs, and he also freaks out about it a bit too much. Never attribute to malice, and all that...

-W

[Michael in ABQ]

I would not be surprised at all if there were informal requests for help or change that Capt Crozier did, that were shut down or ignored by immediate superior officer or officers. That's what that story is missing. But we may not hear that side.

Ultimately we'll never know the real story. His letter didn't provide much information on what actions he had already taken as a commander and how effective they were. He didn't say "I've requested every available room on base and the base commander hasn't acted on that request" or "We've located 500 unoccupied hotel rooms on the island but need funding to pay the hotel" (ironically, spending money in the military is very difficult).

Guam has a population of about 160,000 with about 7,000 military personnel stationed there. According to https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/joint-region-marianas-naval-base-guam/housing/government-housing it has 870 family housing units, 1,200 bachelor quarters (aka barracks rooms), and 16 rooms for transients. Most military bases only provide on-base housing for around 20% of the military population. The rest are expected to find lodging off post by renting houses or apartments.

All that is to say, it's not like they were docked in San Diego where there were potentially thousands of available rooms on military bases and hotels. Finding individual, or even 2-4-person rooms for 4-5,000 personnel is a huge task that even with all of this media attention has still not been accomplished more than a week later.

I had one of my subordinates recently go past our headquarters to the higher headquarters when he felt like they were not acting quickly enough. I had to slap him down and remind him that the world didn't revolve around his timeline and there were legitimate reasons for the delays that were well outside our control. Sometime you just have to let the system work and do the best you can with what you've got. 

[Lews Therin]

If administrative hoops are any indication, chances are that this had to go up and down and all around all sorts of different offices to get signatures in order to place the naval personnel in the quarters, rent hotels, etc.

It`s taken more than 5 years to order office furniture for a base in Canada (200,000$). I can imagine the budgeting and getting approvals would take way too much time for someone who knows that the number of infected personnel is increasing exponentially.

[Viking Thor]

So far over 400 positive cases of Covid from the crew and 1 crew member just admitted to ICU.

Pretty obvious in quarters that small if he hadn't done what he did they virtually all would have gotten infected and some would have died. Yes they are a healthier demographic but 5000 people and there is still some risk for young and healthy people.

So without his actions they would have needlessly waited a while until the ship was absurdly incapacitated and then done the same thing, resulting in needless.suffering and death plus the ship being out of service longer.

As.far as.I'm concerned he is a hero and his superiors morons.

[SwordGuy]

CAPT Crozier's boss (Admiral in command of the Carrier Group) was literally down the hall - and he was given the personal cell phone number for the Secretary of the Navy. He apparently ignored both those channels and sent out this letter in the least secure way possible. A letter that provided no indication of the effectiveness of the steps being taken already and was basically meant to be leaked to the press. This wasn't a case of where he was being stonewalled and this letter was a cry for help. He was getting help, people above him were asking what else he needed, and instead of giving them any time to actually get stuff done he decided to throw them under the bus because he was worried if he brought up the concerns he voiced in his letter that he would be told to be quiet.

I'm reminded of the scene in Raising Arizona, in which some bank robbers rush into the bank and scream, "Everyone freeze!   Get down on the floor!" and an old codger says, "Which is it you want, young fella, 'cause if'n I freeze I can't get on the floor and if'n I get on the floor I got to move?"   *

You can hardly complain that Crozier sent the letter "in the least secure way possible" and ALSO complain that it did not contain detailed explanations of the situation.

So, which is it you want?

So the Captain did what he knew needed to be done -- he copied enough people ON A MILITARY NETWORK that he knew it couldn't be swept under a rug and hidden.   Enough people would know there was a problem that some useful action would need to be taken so the ship's crew could be saved and (hopefully) a new, healthy crew could be made ready.     The fact that someone leaked it to the press probably means that no one who received it was willing to make waves with their name attached.   But that's on them, not the Captain.

The question remains, where was the Admiral in all this?    I would like to believe that they flipped a coin to see who would throw themselves on their sword and report this problem.    But that's unlikely.   It's far more likely that the Admiral didn't want to make waves.



-----------

* Or words to that effect...

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

How did it cost that guy so much to go to Guam??? Did he take his whole glam squad or what?

[ROF Expat]

How did it cost that guy so much to go to Guam??? Did he take his whole glam squad or what?

He flew there in a military version of a Gulfstream private jet.  The Navy's official cost for that is around $7,000 per hour.  There's always some question as to how they come up with these costs (for example, do they amortize the retirement pay and benefits of the crew?  Did the aircrew have to do certain flights anyway for training hours?), but a quick glance with our friend, Mr Google shows the charter cost for a similar aircraft would probably be around $8,000 per hour, so the $7k figure doesn't seem unreasonable.  I'm sure he took at least a staffer or two, as service secretaries don't travel alone (at a certain rank, one becomes incapable of carrying ones own stuff), but that wouldn't change the overall cost of the flight. 

[Travis]

How did it cost that guy so much to go to Guam??? Did he take his whole glam squad or what?

He flew there in a military version of a Gulfstream private jet.  The Navy's official cost for that is around $7,000 per hour.  There's always some question as to how they come up with these costs (for example, do they amortize the retirement pay and benefits of the crew?  Did the aircrew have to do certain flights anyway for training hours?), but a quick glance with our friend, Mr Google shows the charter cost for a similar aircraft would probably be around $8,000 per hour, so the $7k figure doesn't seem unreasonable.  I'm sure he took at least a staffer or two, as service secretaries don't travel alone (at a certain rank, one becomes incapable of carrying ones own stuff), but that wouldn't change the overall cost of the flight.

Fuel and amortized maintenance.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

How did it cost that guy so much to go to Guam??? Did he take his whole glam squad or what?

He flew there in a military version of a Gulfstream private jet.  The Navy's official cost for that is around $7,000 per hour.  There's always some question as to how they come up with these costs (for example, do they amortize the retirement pay and benefits of the crew?  Did the aircrew have to do certain flights anyway for training hours?), but a quick glance with our friend, Mr Google shows the charter cost for a similar aircraft would probably be around $8,000 per hour, so the $7k figure doesn't seem unreasonable.  I'm sure he took at least a staffer or two, as service secretaries don't travel alone (at a certain rank, one becomes incapable of carrying ones own stuff), but that wouldn't change the overall cost of the flight.

Didn't occur to the guy to Zoom in, then. What a frickin waste of money.

[TomTX]

So the Captain did what he knew needed to be done -- he copied enough people ON A MILITARY NETWORK that he knew it couldn't be swept under a rug and hidden.   Enough people would know there was a problem that some useful action would need to be taken so the ship's crew could be saved and (hopefully) a new, healthy crew could be made ready.     The fact that someone leaked it to the press probably means that no one who received it was willing to make waves with their name attached.   But that's on them, not the Captain.

Keep in mind he was also alerting his fellow Captains and protecting the rest of the fleet by letting them know WTF was going on and the response (or lack thereof) from the brass.

[norajean]

Not sure how someone can get as high as Crozier without understanding how the Navy works. Can only imagine he must have wanted to get fired and was fed up with his career.

[Kris]

Not sure how someone can get as high as Crozier without understanding how the Navy works. Can only imagine he must have wanted to get fired and was fed up with his career.

Even more baffling is Modly. How he got to be Secretary of the Navy only to screw up so badly is beyond...

Oh, right.

[ROF Expat]

How did it cost that guy so much to go to Guam??? Did he take his whole glam squad or what?

He flew there in a military version of a Gulfstream private jet.  The Navy's official cost for that is around $7,000 per hour.  There's always some question as to how they come up with these costs (for example, do they amortize the retirement pay and benefits of the crew?  Did the aircrew have to do certain flights anyway for training hours?), but a quick glance with our friend, Mr Google shows the charter cost for a similar aircraft would probably be around $8,000 per hour, so the $7k figure doesn't seem unreasonable.  I'm sure he took at least a staffer or two, as service secretaries don't travel alone (at a certain rank, one becomes incapable of carrying ones own stuff), but that wouldn't change the overall cost of the flight.

Fuel and amortized maintenance.

Thanks for the clarification. 

[Telecaster]

Not sure how someone can get as high as Crozier without understanding how the Navy works. Can only imagine he must have wanted to get fired and was fed up with his career.

Or he was willing to risk his career for the safety of his crew.  That seems to be how his crew interpreted it. 

[Abe]

Not sure how someone can get as high as Crozier without understanding how the Navy works. Can only imagine he must have wanted to get fired and was fed up with his career.

Or he was willing to risk his career for the safety of his crew.  That seems to be how his crew interpreted it.

I'd go with that interpretation too. Career isn't everything. Maybe Modly was fed up and wanted to get fired, and Zooming in wouldn't be gloriously stupid enough to get kicked out of Trump's administration.

[erutio]

Welp, looks like the first sailor from the ship died earlier today in Guam...

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-usa-navy/u-s-sailor-from-coronavirus-hit-ship-dies-after-contracting-virus-idUSL2N2C10B2

[dang1]

https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112614
Navy Sailor Assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt Dies of COVID-Related Complications
Story Number: NNS200413-01 Release Date: 4/13/2020 8:46:00 AM
From U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs
PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- The Sailor assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the U.S. Naval Hospital Guam April 9 (local date) died of COVID-related complications April 13.
The name of the Sailor is being withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification.
The Sailor, tested positive for COVID-19 March 30, was removed from the ship and placed in an isolation house on Naval Base Guam with four other USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Sailors. Like other Sailors in isolation, he received medical checks twice daily from Navy medical teams.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., Apr. 9 (local date), the Sailor was found unresponsive during a daily medical check. While Naval Base Guam emergency responders were notified, CPR was administered by fellow Sailors and onsite medical team in the house. The Sailor was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam where the Sailor was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The Sailor was declared deceased April 13.
USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Guam March 27 for a scheduled port visit for resupply and crew rest.

[GuitarStv]

Guess the survival rate wasn't as 'excellent' as some in this thread predicted.

[marty998]

https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112614
Navy Sailor Assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt Dies of COVID-Related Complications
Story Number: NNS200413-01 Release Date: 4/13/2020 8:46:00 AM
From U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs
PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- The Sailor assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the U.S. Naval Hospital Guam April 9 (local date) died of COVID-related complications April 13.
The name of the Sailor is being withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification.
The Sailor, tested positive for COVID-19 March 30, was removed from the ship and placed in an isolation house on Naval Base Guam with four other USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Sailors. Like other Sailors in isolation, he received medical checks twice daily from Navy medical teams.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., Apr. 9 (local date), the Sailor was found unresponsive during a daily medical check. While Naval Base Guam emergency responders were notified, CPR was administered by fellow Sailors and onsite medical team in the house. The Sailor was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam where the Sailor was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The Sailor was declared deceased April 13.
USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Guam March 27 for a scheduled port visit for resupply and crew rest.

There are not many ways to administer CPR to someone that doesn't involve very close contact with the patient. You would hope they had the machinery there instead of asking sailors to give mouth to mouth.

[Cassie]

He totally did the right thing and I admire him as does his crew.