Navy upholds firing of captain in coronavirus outbreak
WASHINGTON — In a stunning reversal, the Navy has upheld the firing of the aircraft carrier captain who urged faster action to protect his crew from a coronavirus outbreak, according to a U.S. official familiar with the report.
The official said the Navy also extended the blame for the ship’s pandemic crisis, delaying the promotion of the one-star admiral who was also onboard the Theodore Roosevelt, concluding that both men made serious errors in judgment.
The spread of the coronavirus aboard the carrier while on deployment in the Pacific in March exploded into one of the biggest military leadership crises of recent years. More than 1,000 members of the crew were infected, and one sailor died. The ship was out of service for weeks in Guam but recently returned to duty.
The decision by Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, to hold Capt. Brett Crozier and his boss, Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, accountable is a confirmation of concerns expressed by top Pentagon officials who demanded a deeper investigation last month after an initial probe recommended Crozier’s reinstatement as captain.
The official described the findings on condition of anonymity to discuss a report not yet made public.
The investigation by Adm. Robert Burke, endorsed Friday by Gilday, defends the turnaround on Crozier, saying that the more detailed probe uncovered poor decisions he made that failed to stem the outbreak or properly communicate the escalating crisis to senior commanders. It also concludes that Baker failed to take decisive actions.
Gilday’s recommendations cap a drama that has engulfed the Navy for nearly three months and set off a dramatic series of events that led to Crozier’s dismissal, the abrupt resignation of the acting Navy secretary who fired him and the push for a broader review of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s top commanders and how they handled the COVID-19 outbreak.
Based on the findings, Crozier and Baker would be able to remain in the Navy and move on to other jobs at their current ranks, but the admonishments are likely career enders for both men. Crozier’s firing upset the carrier’s crew, and he received an ovation as he walked off the ship.
The recommendations reflect concerns expressed by Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite, who told a Senate
committee in early May that the service was in “rough waters” and suffering from leadership failures. Braithwaite, who the official said endorsed Gilday’s report, pledged to the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing that he would restore a culture of good order and discipline to the service.
In late April, after a preliminary review, Gilday recommended that Crozier be returned to command of the Roosevelt. But Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pressed for a delay and a wider investigation of the COVID-19 crisis on the ship, suggesting the need for deeper scrutiny of actions and decisions by senior admirals in the Pacific.
The COVID-19 outbreak on the Roosevelt was the most extensive across the U.S. military. It eventually sent all 4,800 crew members ashore for weeks of quarantine and put out of commission a massive warship vital to the Navy’s mission of countering China’s power in the Asia-Pacific region.
When the outbreak was discovered, Crozier emailed several commanders pleading for urgent Navy action, including the removal of nearly all sailors from the ship to protect their health. That email was leaked to media, and the acting Navy secretary, Thomas Modly, accused Crozier of bad judgment and on April 2 directed that he be relieved of command. Days later, amid an uproar of his handling of the matter, Modly resigned and was replaced by James McPherson. Braithwaite’s nomination as secretary was still pending; he took over this month after being confirmed by the Senate.
In the report Friday, Gilday concluded that Crozier did not intentionally leak the email.