U.S. navy boss resigns amid coronavirus uproar

Move comes after tirade about captain fired from COVID-19-stricken ship

WASHINGTON—Acting U.S. navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned Tuesday, bringing to a climax an extraordinary drama that he advanced by delivering a profanity-laced upbraiding of the officer he fired as captain of the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt.

In announcing the resignation, Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Modly quit on his own accord, “putting the navy and the sailors above self,” so the navy and the Roosevelt can move forward. The Roosevelt is sidelined in port at Guam as members of the crew are tested for the coronavirus and moved ashore.

“His care for the sailors was genuine,” Esper said.

Esper said he briefed U.S. President Donald Trump on his conversation with Modly, and with the president’s approval he is appointing James McPherson as acting navy secretary. McPherson, a navy veteran, is currently serving as undersecretary of the army. He was confirmed in that position by the Senate last month.

Esper called McPherson a “smart, capable and professional leader who will restore confidence and stability in the navy during these challenging times.”

Esper said he also met with navy leaders and emphasized three priorities, including putting the health, safety and welfare of the Roosevelt crew first, and working to get the ship back out to sea as soon as safely possible.

Modly had created a combustible controversy by firing the Roosevelt’s skipper, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, last week, saying Crozier had shown “extremely poor judgment” in widely distributing by email a letter calling for urgent help with the COVID-19 outbreak aboard his ship.

Modly then flew to the ship, at port in Guam, and delivered a speech to the crew Sunday in which he lambasted Crozier, saying he was either “too naive or too stupid” to be in charge of an aircraft carrier.

According to a senior defence official, Esper spoke to Modly Monday evening, directing him to apologize for his remarks about Crozier and setting a phone meeting for Tuesday morning. The official said Esper did not request or demand Modly’s resignation, but instead discussed the situation and the way forward. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Modly came to his own conclusion and offered his resignation. Modly’s options were few. Officials said it would have been difficult for him to rebuild his relationship with sailors in the fleet, and equally hard to restore his reputation among senior military leaders and retired naval officers who believed his sharp remarks on the Roosevelt crossed a line.

Asked about the resignation, Trump said Tuesday that he didn’t know him or speak to him but credited Modly for resigning “to end that problem.” It was, he said, an “unselfish thing to do.”

Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, said Modly had fired Crozier against the advice of navy military leaders.

“The new leadership of the navy must do better in leading and protecting sailors, marines and their families in this unprecedented crisis,” Reed said.

As of Tuesday, the navy said 79 per cent of the Roosevelt crew had been tested for the coronavirus, and 230 of them were positive.