Navy Recommends Reinstating Captain Crozier, Waiting On Defense Sec Approval

While the chief of Naval Operations has recommended Captain Brett Crozier be reinstated as commander of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, Navy officials are surprised Defense Secretary Mark Esper hasn’t signed off on the reinstatement. Crozier was removed from his command after he emailed superiors with concerns for his crew regarding the coronavirus. Crozier was dismissed by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly after the letter leaked. At the time, Crozier was characterized as having sent the email to 20-30 people. It was later revealed he only sent his concerns to 3 admirals and copied 7 captains. Modly resigned after he traveled to Guam to give a speech about the Roosevelt that berated Crozier as “stupid” or “naive.” From the NY Times:

Capt. Brett E. Crozier should be restored to command of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy’s top officials recommended on Friday.

But Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who was briefed on the recommendations, has asked for more time to consider whether he will sign off on the reinstatement of the captain of the nuclear-powered carrier.

Mr. Esper received the recommendation that Captain Crozier be reinstated from the chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael M. Gilday, and the acting Navy Secretary, James McPherson, on Friday. Defense Department officials said earlier that they expected to announce the results of the Navy’s investigation into the matter on Friday afternoon.

Mr. Esper’s decision to hold up the investigation has surprised Navy officials, who believed that the defense secretary would leave the process in the hands of the military chain of command.

As of today, the Navy reports 856 positive cases of coronavirus have been found among the USS Roosevelt crew, with 112 recovered and four in the hospital. One sailor died last week. CNN offers this recap of the backstory and updates:

Head of Navy recommends reinstating commander of USS Theodore Roosevelt @barbarastarrcnn reports pic.twitter.com/fCUseUd9cZ

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) April 24, 2020