UPDATE II:
A great piece at The New York Times a few days ago goes into the character, qualifications and background of Admiral Michael M. Gilday who, after a swift internal investigation, recommended that Capt. Brett Crozier be restored to command of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Now that Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has declined to endorse the recommendation of the Chief of Naval Operations, the acting Navy Secretary has ordered another investigation, scheduled for completion May 27.
Will pressure by superiors and tweets by the so-called commander in chief influence Gilday, the son of an enlisted sailor and a graduate of the Naval Academy ?
Not so, claim the Admiral’s friends and associates. Admiral Gilday is “determined that his recommendations on the case would be made based on Navy principles and not on fears of what Mr. Trump might want,” they say according to The Times.
Indeed, they say, Gilday is “a sailor’s admiral — a quiet, self-effacing, no-nonsense officer who is comfortable in his own skin making what might be politically unpopular decisions.”
Read more here on how “An accidental Navy Chief [is steering] his Service through a storm.”
UPDATE I:
It seems the Acting Secretary of the Navy and possibly his “higher-ups” do not like the Navy’s findings and are looking for a different outcome:
In a surprise announcement today, Acting Secretary of the Navy James McPherson:
After carefully reviewing the preliminary inquiry into the events surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, provided me with his recommendations. Following our discussion, I have unanswered questions that the preliminary inquiry has identified and that can only be answered by a deeper review. Therefore, I am directing Adm. Gilday to conduct a follow-on command investigation. This investigation will build on the good work of the initial inquiry to provide a more fulsome understanding of the sequence of events, actions, and decisions of the chain of command surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Original Post:
As discussed below (“Previous Story”), last week Admiral Gilday and acting Navy secretary James McPherson reached agreement that the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, Capt. Brett Crozier, should not have been removed from command and should be reinstated.
That recommendation was sent to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper who, surprisingly, asked for more time to sign off on the Navy’s recommendation.
The New York Times: “Esper’s decision to hold up the investigation has surprised Navy officials, who believed that the defense secretary would leave the process in the hands of the military chain of command.”
In response to Esper’s decision to hold off on acting on the Navy’s recommendation, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith (D-Wash.), issued a statement highly critical of the Secretary’s inaction. In part, Smith wrote:
The Secretary of Defense needs to reinstate Captain Brett Crozier as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. While Captain Crozier’s actions at the outset of the health crisis aboard the TR were drastic and imperfect, it is clear he only took such steps to protect his crew….Not only did Captain Crozier have the full support of his crew, he also attempted to work within his chain of command. During this time of crisis, Captain Crozier is exactly what our Sailors need: a leader who inspires confidence.
On the actions of the former Acting Secretary of the Navy, Smith was even more “direct”:
Modly’s subsequent decision to board the U.S.S. Roosevelt and deliver a petty, obscenity-laced speech attacking Captain Crozier while the crew of the Roosevelt dealt with the COVID-19 outbreak should seriously call into question Modly’s decision making ability in general, and makes it all the more clear that his decision to relieve Captain Crozier was completely wrong. Captain Crozier should be reinstated to his command immediately.
And now, according to POLITICO, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is pushing for a “full-blown investigation” even after the Navy completed an “extensive” preliminary inquiry, according to a Navy official.
Thus, military leaders seem now to be at an impasse on how to move forward. An impasse Esper or the commander in chief will hopefully resolve soon, for the sake of Capt., Crozier, the crew of the Theodore Roosevelt and the U.S. Navy.
Previous Story:
In deciding the fate of Captain Brett Crozier, the former commanding officer of the ill-fated Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy had several choices. Among them:
• It could fully exonerate Crozier and reinstate him as commander of the Roosevelt or put him in command of another ship.
• It could take administrative action against the Captain
• It could uphold the firing of Crozier, confirming that the actions of the Captain were wrong – that he is not fit for command – effectively ending his Navy career.
After Navy Captain Brett Crozier, commander of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, pled for assistance in evacuating his coronavirus-exposed sailors off the ship and into quarantine; after he was removed from command for taking this action; after he was denigrated, called “too stupid to be a commanding officer” of the Roosevelt, even accused of “betrayal” by the Acting Secretary of the Navy; after the Captain himself contracted coronavirus and after at least 840 sailors have tested positive for the virus (more than 15 percent of the crew) and after a relatively quick investigation, Navy top officials have recommended that Capt. Brett E. Crozier be restored to command of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. In other words, to fully restore his honor.
According to the New York Times, Admiral Gilday and James McPherson, the acting Navy secretary who succeeded Thomas Modly “reached agreement late last week that the events leading to Captain Crozier’s letter pleading for help showed that he should not have been removed.”
It is now up to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper to also do the right thing.
The Secretary has received the recommendation but has asked for more time to sign off (or not) on the reinstatement of the captain of the nuclear-powered carrier.
Again, the Times, “Esper’s decision to hold up the investigation has surprised Navy officials, who believed that the defense secretary would leave the process in the hands of the military chain of command.”
Then, there is the unpredictable commander in chief.
We will keep you posted
