On Monday, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly addressed the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The ship of more than 4,000 sailors has been a focal point of novel coronavirus pandemic talk in recent days because its former commander, Captain Brett Crozier, went viral after a four-page memo he wrote asking for COVID-19 support from Navy higher-ups was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle. Since then, at least 230 USS TR crew members have tested positive for the virus. Crozier, who reportedly tested positive for the virus himself, has been fired. And, as occurred in Modly’s leaked address on Monday, Crozier was attacked and criticized over how he sent out his plea for help.
As of Monday night, Modly apologized—sort of. And now people are calling for him to resign or be fired.
Of all Modly’s remarks—which you can listen to here—his comments that Crozier was “naive” or “stupid” were particularly offensive. “If he didn’t think,” Modly stated on Monday, “in my opinion, that this information wasn’t going to get out into the public, in this day and information age that we live in, then he was either A, too naive or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this… The alternative is that he did this on purpose.”
The backlash was swift, but Modly initially stood by his remarks, saying in part: “The spoken words were from the heart, and meant for them. I stand by every word I said, even, regrettably any profanity that may have been used for emphasis. Anyone who has served on a Navy ship would understand. I ask, but don’t expect, that people read them in their entirety."
As an actual apology, a few hours later, he offered this: "I apologize for any confusion this choice of words may have caused. I also want to apologize directly to Captain Crozier, his family, and the entire crew of the Theodore Roosevelt for any pain my remarks may have caused."
The rest of the statement has a lot of backpedaling.
Modly stressed: "Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naïve nor stupid. I think, and always believed him to be the opposite. We pick our carrier commanding officers with great care. Captain Crozier is smart and passionate.”
Then, this: “I believe, precisely because he is not naive and stupid, that he sent his alarming email with the intention of getting it into the public domain in an effort to draw public attention to the situation on his ship.”
In his initial remarks to the crew, Modly focused on media attention and the related “betrayal of trust.” At that time, he said in part: “Because he did that, he put it in the public’s forum and it’s now become a big controversy in Washington, D.C., and across the country, about a martyr CO who wasn’t getting the help he needed and therefore had to go through the chain of command, a chain of command which includes the media.”
Modly has told reporters that he fired Crozier because he believed the captain “raised alarm bells unnecessarily” and that he didn’t have confidence in the commander’s abilities any longer. As of Monday night, Trump said he will be “getting involved and see exactly what is going on there because I don’t want to destroy someone for having a bad day.”
What might have brought on the apology? As reported by CNN, two U.S. officials told the network that Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s office told Modly that he had to apologize, which may have prompted the sudden change of heart.
Either way, many people are calling for Modly to be removed or resign, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith. “Acting Secretary Modly’s decision to address the sailors on the Roosevelt and personally attack Captain Crozier shows a tone-deaf approach more focused on personal ego than one of the calm, steady leadership we so desperately need in this crisis,” the Democrat from Washington state said in a statement. “I no longer have confidence in Acting Secretary Modly’s leadership of the Navy and believe he should be removed from his position,” he added.
Some also suggest that instead of giving Modly the chance to resign, he should simply be fired.
And Crozier’s former crew? The viral video in which they cheered and clapped for him as he disembarked from the ship last week speaks for itself.