Navy captain courageously sacrificed his career

As a former naval officer who served on a ship during the Vietnam War, I knew when I saw that Capt. Brett Crozier of the USS Theodore Roosevelt’s letter to the Pentagon had become public that his naval career was over (“Naval Academy grad who was fired after raising coronavirus concerns on Navy ship has tested positive, report says,” April 5). Once this letter went beyond the “chain of command,” any chance of advancement to senior status had ended. To his credit, I’m sure he knew this as well. The fact that what he wrote was accurate is immaterial; the fact that his legitimate concerns became public meant that he would never become an admiral, the customary advancement for someone in command of an aircraft carrier. What this means is that Captain Crozier knowingly sacrificed his future career for the benefit of his crew. One would hope that this defines a “Profile in Courage.”

One must also wonder why Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly, who has since resigned, made the decision to remove Captain Crozier so quickly, if at all. Could it possibly have been for political reasons? Could it be that in the age of Donald Trump any “bad” publicity had to be immediately pushed back against, even in this time of national emergency? Perhaps it is because so many of our national leadership is “acting” at the will of this president. During these stressful times, each of us must answer these question on our own. Hopefully, we can appreciate those among us who step up and sacrifice themselves for the greater good and can differentiate them from those whose only interest is their own popularity.

George K. Reynolds III, Phoenix