'Captain Crozier! Captain Crozier!': Videos show sailors sending off ousted USS Roosevelt commander with cheers

Stars and Stripes ^ | 3 April 2020 | Chad Garland

[AmericanInTokyo]

A cheering and applauding crowd of sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt wished farewell to their captain, whom the Navy relieved of command after he raised concerns about the spreading coronavirus on his ship in a letter that was leaked to the media.

Hundreds were pictured in the gathering in the ship’s hangar deck and many chanted Capt. Brett Crozier’s name in multiple videos posted to social media.

A video posted Friday to the Facebook page of Michael Washington included the hashtags #MYCO and #WEARETRSTRONG.

“That’s how you send out one of the greatest captains you ever had,” someone says in the video, then using an acronym for greatest of all time, adds: “The GOAT, the man for the people.”

Crozier was dismissed Thursday due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command and for not using his chain of command to make service leaders aware of his concerns about the virus outbreak that had infected more than 100 sailors on the ship, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said at the Pentagon.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Update: He caught it, too.

[ETCM]

He was fired for his neglect in forwarding the letter to a large number of people, ensuring it’s leak to the media. Additionally, the memo included information that disclosed actual or proposed reductions in the ship’s combat readiness, and should have been classified. Where was his concern when his ship was scheduled for a port visit in Vietnam during an outbreak of a dangerous infectious disease?

The letter was fine. The leak was a fireable offense, and the actual leaker should be court martialed.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

What is supposed to be the connection between the crew liking the Captain and the Captain doing things that got him relieved of command? We keep seeing these threads about the crew cheering the captain as he’s being relieved of command as if they have some sort of relevance, but I don’t get it. Is following the chain of command now only dependent on how popular you are?

[justa-hairyape]

It affects your thinking process. Just like a six pack of corona.

[wastoute]

Enlisted people aren’t stupid and the Navy, IMHO, has maintained a “distance” between Officers and Enlisted the Army gave up on long ago. If Officers seem “aloof” the Enlisted ranks become grudgingly responsive. All one needs to do is “roll up your sleeves” and let your people see that you are setting an example they will have difficulty meeting YOUR standards and they will love you. At least as much as that is ever gonna happen. There will always be that one sneaky bastard.

[PeteB570]

He was worried about his crew spreading the virus but allowed them to gather together in a crowd.

To me it shows something odd about his concern.

[Tennessee Nana]

Yes there were probably pats on the back and hugs all around too...

[Tennessee Nana]

Why did he wait until 100+ sailors had the Wu Ho Flu ???

and why did he take the ship to Vietnam ???

[PeteB570]

The letter from SECNAV that explains why he fired the Captain.

https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112537

[AmericanInTokyo]

This part of his memo was most interesting to me:

"7. Conclusion. Decisive action is required. Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed US. nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary measure. A portion of the crew (approximately 10%) would have to stay aboard to run the reactor plant, sanitize the ship, ensure security, and provide for contingency response to emergencies. This is a necessary risk. It will enable the carrier and air wing to get back underway as quickly as possible while ensuring the health and safety of our Sailors. Keeping over 4,000 young men and women on board the TR is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those Sailors entrusted to our care... This will require a political solution but it is the right thing to do. We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset our Sailors. Request all available resources to find NAVADMIN and CDC compliant quarantine rooms for my entire crew as soon as possible."

One might suspect perhaps he saw the spread of COVID-19 rapidly in other test template environments...on the Diamond Princess here berthed in Japan (one big clusterf with I think 10 now dead and hundreds infected), the Grand Princess in California, etc etc. Who knows, maybe he ran the numbers from the DP as a simulation, and correctly noted in such a cramped naval situation, the ship's CV-19 outbreak had a basic reproduction number of 14.8; much higher than the usual 2–4.

[billyboy15]

The claim is a few hundredcheered for him as he left the ship in disgrace.

There are something over 3 THOUSAND crew members on an AC.

[billyboy15]

The avg age of those succoming to the virus is about 80 with great majority having serious pre existing medical issues.

The avg age of a carrier crew would be well under 30 with the huge majority having no serious medical conditions.

[SkyPilot]

Correct, from your link:

When the Commanding Officer of the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT decided to write his letter of 30 March 2020 that outlined his concerns for his crew in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak, the Department of the Navy had already mobilized significant resources for days in response to his previous requests. On the same date marked on his letter, my Chief of Staff had called the CO directly, at my request, to ensure he had all the resources necessary for the health and safety of his crew.

The CO told my Chief of Staff that he was receiving those resources, and was fully aware of the Navy’s response, only asking that the he wished the crew could be evacuated faster. My Chief of Staff ensured that the CO knew that he had an open line to me to use at any time. He even called the CO again a day later to follow up. At no time did the CO relay the various levels of alarm that I, along with the rest of the world, learned from his letter when it was published two days later.

Once I read the letter, I immediately called the Chief of Naval Operations, ADM Gilday, and the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, ADM Aquilino. ADM Gilday had just read the letter that morning as well, and ADM Aquilino had it the day before. We had a teleconference within minutes of my reading of that article, including the Commander, SEVENTH Fleet, VADM William Merz, ADM Aquilino, ADM Gilday, the Department of the Navy’s Surgeon General, RADM Bruce Gillingham, and others. That evening, we held another teleconference with the entire chain of command.

The next day, I spoke with the CO of the THEODORE ROOSEVELT myself, and this morning, I have spoken to the TR’s Carrier Strike Group Commander, RDML Stuart Baker. RDML Baker did not know about the letter before it was sent to him via email by the CO. It is important to understand that the Strike Group Commander, the CO’s immediate boss, is embarked on the Theodore Roosevelt, right down the passageway from him. The letter was sent over non- secure, unclassified email even though that ship possesses some of the most sophisticated communications and encryption equipment in the Fleet.

It was sent outside the chain of command, at the same time the rest of the Navy was fully responding. Worse, the Captain’s actions made his Sailors, their families, and many in the public believe that his letter was the only reason help from our larger Navy family was forthcoming, which was hardly the case.

Capt Crozier:

1. Violated the Chain of Command

2. Sent sensitive or even CLASSIFED info via UNCLASS, open source e-mail

3. Sowed confusion and fear upon the crew and families of the Roosevelt

The Trump-hating media loved it all.

Colleagues say the downfall of Capt. Brett E. Crozier was charging headlong into the Trump administration’s narrative that it had everything in the coronavirus pandemic under control

[SkyPilot]

Enlisted people aren’t stupid and the Navy, IMHO, has maintained a “distance” between Officers and Enlisted the Army gave up on long ago. If Officers seem “aloof” the Enlisted ranks become grudgingly responsive.

Morning wasoute.

As a retired military officer, there are profound challenges at work.

As you know, there are both good officers, and bad officers. There are good NCOs, and bad NCOs. There are good Privates, Airmen Basics, and Seaman Recruits, and bad ones.

If some officers are perceived as "aloof", the reason may not always be because they are stuck-up jerks as depicted in Hollywood movies. As a leader, you have to walk a fine line depending upon the circumstances.

The military must function according to discipline and structure. Officers who try too hard to be "one of the guys" can become horribly ineffective, and often hated in the end by the men and women in their command.

The military academies, OTS, and ROTC training that officers receive emphasize (or at least they used to) that an officer who tries to be everyone's "buddy" is not leading, and there are rules of conduct.

On the other hand, a good officer must also be a servant-leader. It is never about "you", but about your command and your men and women. I wish more officers and career military followed that dictum, because not all do.

In my military career, I found that the situation often dictated the strategy of leadership. Sometimes you had to be the hard ass, but other times you had to be the coach, the mentor, or even the friend.

But an officer who wanted to be everyone's friend all the time was never an effective leader, and no one respected him or her.

I had other leadership roles besides actual flying, and those were more "by the book." But flying with a crew (of both officers and enlisted) was different. We were a crew - and we worked, slept, and ate together for weeks at a time. We also looked out for each other during our time off while in countries all over the world, and played cards and had a few drinks together.

We were like a family, and we had to rely on each other constantly.

When decisions had to made, I as the aircraft commander had to make them, and the crew followed my lead. Maintenance, weather, dealing with cargo and passengers, higher headquarters, embassies, etc.

But, that was a more special relationship (being in a flying crew).

To be honest, I found being a leader to be often a hard and lonely role. Rewarding, but lonely.

[GeneralisimoFranciscoFranco]

What did the Capt know about the wuflu prior to docking in Vietnam?

[SkyPilot]

I don’t know.

[independentmind]

It is hard to figure this story out.

I do have to wonder whether Crozier’s actions had a political motivation.

But it is still hard to understand why someone with his track record would choose to do something so reckless.

I have never been in the military, but my father was in the Pacific during WWII. I grew up with the saying that loose lips sink ships.

[wastoute]

Absolutely correct. Everyone who worked for me knew exactly what a hard ass I could be and some of them had seen it first hand. I’ll never forget the look on that Captains face when I told him he had to go “explain” to Col. Sue Master Parachutist RN why she wasn’t getting what he promised. One only has to “lock someone’s ankles down” a couple times and the word gets around.

[Krosan]

I am interested in navair and read several forums. The sentiment of the Navy pilots is that he was going to get ax’d anyway either due to a large amount of seamen dying or due to making a public stink, so he chose an option where people under him don’t die.

A point often brought up is that carriers have central air that can’t be turned off, so viruses spread very quickly there.

[SkyPilot]

One only has to “lock someone’s ankles down” a couple times and the word gets around

That's absolutely true.

I found that when first assuming a leadership position, you had to be cautious for those first few weeks. It was much more prudent to be perceived as more of a hard ass during the initial period of command. People were more on their toes. Then, after people got to know you, you them, and respect was built - you could become more of a coach. But it was all a tight rope.