Navy launches a probe into the virus crisis aboard USS Roosevelt.
WASHINGTON — The Navy is launching a wider investigation of the coronavirus crisis aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, suggesting closer and deeper scrutiny of actions and decisions by senior admirals in the Pacific that led to the controversial firing of the ship’s commander nearly a month ago.
The move announced Wednesday effectively delays a decision on whether to go ahead with a Navy recommendation that Capt. Brett E. Crozier be restored to command of the Roosevelt, which has been docked in Guam for weeks. Crozier was fired after pleading for urgent Navy action to protect his crew.
The expanded inquiry suggests the Navy is looking to hold someone accountable for the most severe virus outbreak to strike the U.S. military. It has infected nearly 1,000 sailors, killing one, and temporarily hobbled an aircraft carrier vital to the Navy’s mission of countering China’s power in the Asia-Pacific region.
The new investigation was announced by James E. McPherson, the acting Navy secretary, who said in a brief statement that an initial inquiry proved insufficient.
“I have unanswered questions that the preliminary inquiry has identified and that can only be answered by a deeper review,” said McPherson, a retired rear admiral who had served as the Navy’s judge advocate general, its top lawyer.
The investigation is expected to examine communication and leadership actions in the Navy chain of command in the Pacific, to include events before the initial virus outbreak in late March, officials said. This likely includes the decision to make a port visit to Da Nang, Vietnam, which has been cited as a possible source of the infection aboard the Roosevelt.