By now, everyone knows the circumstances under which Captain Crozier was relieved of duty, sacrificing his career for the sake of the thousands of men under his command.
In case you're not clued in, the ex-Navy Commander sounded the alarm over a coronavirus outbreak on his ship (Theodore Roosevelt), writing a letter to Navy leadership appealing for immediate help but crucially, also sent the memo to other Navy personnel-breaking the chain of command. He did this knowing full well it would likely end his career, but acted in the best interest of his ~5000 crew.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly just gave a speech to the entire crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
You can read it here. Be forewarned that it includes the sentence "He [referring to Captain Crozier] was either too naive or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this."
By the time a commander of Crozier's experience resorts to sacrificing his own career in order to save his men, you can count on his having previously tried every avenue through the ordinary communication channels of the chain of command.
Please read the speech, and know that its author is the man that the President of the United States has placed in charge of the United States Navy
This is the worst speech I have ever heard delivered by human being in a leadership position. The author of this sniveling excuse of a speech ought have no rightful place in leadership anywhere in society, much less overseeing the sailors of the United States Navy. And the Commander in Chief is equally guilty for allowing this man into power.
Some background on Thomas Modly:
Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly served in the US Navy for 7 years as a helicopter pilot. He has never had command of a ship in his life. His primary "qualifications" to serve as Secretary of the Navy are that he briefly taught political science at the Air Force academy, and he was an executive at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Some background on US Navy Captain Brett Crozier, (recent) former commander of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "USS Theodore Roosevelt":
Captain Crozier has served in the US Navy with a career spanning 28 years. He received his masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War college in 2007 and completed Nuclear Power School in 2014.
His first combat detail was flying F/A-18s off of the aircraft carrier "Nimitz" during operation Iraqi Freedom.
His first command was of the F/A-18 Hornet squadron VFA-94, the famed "Mighty Shrikes". Beginning in April of 2014, he served for two years as the Executive Officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "USS Ronald Reagan". In June of 2017, Crozier took command of the "USS Blue Ridge", the flagship of the 7th fleet, deployed in the Pacific. After completing his tour with (and a refit of) the Blue Ridge, he took command of the nuclear aircraft carrier "USS Theodore Roosevelt"
