Former acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly was angered by the videos of sailors cheering for their recently-fired commander, according to The
New York Times.Modly then took a jet to fly to Guam to address the
ship's crew — a trip that reportedly cost over $243,000.Modly was not
the only Navy official vexed by the circumstances: Adm. Robert Burke,
the vice chief of naval operations, reportedly told the ship's senior
medical officer that they failed as a leader, two crew members told The
Times.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.To get more
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Former acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly was angered by the videos
of sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt cheering for their
recently-fired commander, according to a New York Times report published
Sunday.Modly, who on April 3 fired the aircraft carrier's commander,
Capt. Brett Crozier, was angry after several videos showed dozens of
crew members gathering to send off Crozier with applause and cheers,
Navy officials told The Times. Videos of the incident trended online and
have since garnered support for the departed commander, who was removed
after his letter pleading Navy leaders for help with a coronavirus
outbreak leaked to the press.Modly then took a jet to fly to Guam to
address the ship's crew — a trip that reportedly cost over $243,000.
Using the ship's announcement system, Modly defended his decision to
fire Crozier in a 15-minute profanity-laced speech and expressed
continued support for the crew. Audio of the all-hands call were
eventually leaked to news organizations.“That's your duty. Not to
complain. Everyone's scared about this thing,” Modly said in the call.
“But I'll tell you something, if this ship was in combat and there were
hypersonic missiles coming at it, you'd be pretty f---ing scared too.
But you do your jobs. And that's what I expect you to do.”Modly was not
the only Navy official vexed by the circumstances. Adm. Robert Burke,
the vice chief of naval operations, reportedly told the ship's senior
medical officer that they failed as a leader, two crew members told The
Times.
Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, addresses the crew during an all-hands
call on the ships flight deck, November 14, 2019.
US Navy/MCS 3rd Class Nicholas Huynh
Modly fired Crozier after the captain warned about the coronavirus
outbreak aboard his ship. The warning, which came in the form of a
four-page letter, was sent by email to over 20 people; and eventually
leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle.
According to Modly, Crozier violated military protocols, circumventing
the chain of command by sending the letter to a group of people. Modly
said that while he did not know how the letter got to the media, there
was a “proper way” for Crozier to handle his concerns.“If he didn't
think ... that if he didn't think that information wasn't going to get
out into the public, in this information age that we live in, then he
was either A: too childish or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a
ship like this,” Modly said of Crozier. “The alternative is that he did
this on purpose.”Modly's comments immediately sparked intense backlash
from lawmakers and the ship's sailors. Modly later walked backed his
comments and apologized. He resigned on April 7.In his final message to
the entire Navy, Modly admitted his comments were “a poor use of
words.”“You are justified in being angry with me about that,” Modly said
in the message, according to the Navy Times. “There is no excuse, but
perhaps a glimpse of understanding, and hopefully empathy.”
“But what's done is done,” he added. “I can't take it back, and
frankly I don't know if I walked back up that quarterdeck today if I
wouldn't have the same level of emotions that drove my delivery
yesterday.”Crozier has since been in quarantine after testing positive
for the coronavirus. Over 580 of the USS Theodore Roosevelt's crew of
4,800 tested positive as of Sunday, according to the Navy. Nearly 4,000
of the crew members have since evacuated the ship into Guam, where many
of them are under quarantine in hotels.