Tag Archives: Brett Crozier

military news

Capt. Crozier gets slapped again … dang!

Man, I was hoping for a different outcome to this story.

U.S. Navy Capt. Brett Crozier got relieved of his command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier because he sent out warnings to the Navy brass that his crew was being threatened by the COVID-19 virus.

The Navy Department said he acted beyond the normal chain of command so it sent Capt. Crozier packing … much to the chagrin of the men and women he commanded.

Now the Navy says he won’t get reinstated, which had been considered. I was among those who thought the Navy shafted the stellar sailor whose only “sin” was to care for the health of his crew.

I had hoped the Navy would return him to his command.

Alas, it won’t.

It’s not all bad news. Crozier will keep his rank. He will be reassigned to another duty post, provided he chooses to stay in the Navy.

Given that the Navy stiffed him, then teased him with the prospect of being reinstated as commanding officer of the Theodore Roosevelt, and then said “no, you won’t,” I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that Capt. Crozier will call it a career.

Thank you for your service to the nation and to the men and women you commanded, skipper.

military news

Acting Navy boss ends tumultuous tenure

Thomas Modly now can be called the “former acting secretary of the U.S. Navy.” To which I say, “Good riddance!”

Modly quit his temporary post after receiving some serious blowback over remarks he made about a ship’s captain he relieved of his command. Modly reassigned Capt. Brett Crozier, the former commanding officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, after Crozier pleaded with Navy brass to do more to protect sailors who were infected by the coronavirus.

Modly said that Crozier had gone outside the chain of command and had caused undue alarm among family members of the ship’s 5,000 crew members.

Crozier’s sailors hailed him as a hero. So did many outside observers. His crew cheered him wildly as he left the ship for the final time while it was docked in Guam. Modly, though, then exhibited some extremely bad taste by suggesting that Crozier was “too naïve” or “too stupid” to command a ship such as the TR.

That’s when the fecal matter hit the fan.

Modly then apologized to Crozier for “any pain” he caused.

Today, he quit. Good riddance, Mr. Acting Secretary … and don’t let the door hit you in the you know what and where.

I guess I should add that if there’s any real justice in this mixed-up world — and I realize it’s too much to ask — Capt. Crozier would be allowed to resume command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

military news

‘Too naive’ or ‘too stupid’ fits the acting Navy boss

Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly needs to get his mouth washed out with soap.

The idiot bureaucrat demoted the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt for seeking help for his sailors struck down by the coronavirus. Capt. Brett Crozier has been reassigned, but was cheered wildly by the sailors under his command as he left the aircraft carrier for the final team the other day.

Modly then flew to where the Roosevelt is docked and was overheard describing Crozier as being “too stupid” or “too naïve” to command a ship with a 5,000-member crew.

Modly has been “rewarded” for popping off by incurring the wrath of U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, who wants Modly fired.

Of course, Defense Secretary Mark Esper — Modly’s immediate supervisor — won’t do it because Esper doesn’t exhibit anything approaching the integrity that Crozier exhibited when he sent out that letter. You see, these men serve at the pleasure of a commander in chief, Donald J. Trump, who lacks any of the compassion and empathy that men and women who serve their country deserve from the individuals who command them.

I agree with Chairman Smith that Modly doesn’t deserve to continue as acting Navy secretary. It’s just a shame that no one with the authority to show Mobly the door will heed the chairman’s demand.

Crozier is the hero in this saga. Modly is the zero.