Acting Navy secretary apologizes for scathing rebuke of ousted captain

Capt. Brett Crozier was either "too naive or too stupid to be a commanding officer," Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said in a speech to sailors Monday.

nbcnews.com

Acting Navy secretary apologizes for rebuke of ousted captain who raised alarm over outbreak

Capt. Brett Crozier was either "too naive or too stupi

pril 6, 2020, 2:37 PM EDT / Updated April 7, 2020, 3:57 AM EDT

By Courtney Kube

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly on Monday delivered a scathing attack against the captain who sounded the alarm over the spread of the coronavirus on his ship.

Speaking in Guam to the crew members of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, Modly said Capt. Brett Crozier was guilty of a “betrayal of trust” in choosing to express his concerns to a broad audience in an email that ultimately was leaked to the media, according to a recording of the speech obtained by NBC News.

“If he didn’t think, 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,” Modly said. “The alternative is that he did this on purpose.”

But Modly used far more biting language in his speech to the Theodore Roosevelt crew members Monday.

“It was betrayal,” Modly said, according to the recording, which was first obtained by the online publication Task & Purpose. “And I can tell you one other thing: 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, in a statement released after a purported transcript of the remarks was reported by several news outlets, said he stood by his words.

"The spoken words were from the heart, and meant for them," Modly said. "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."

But several hours later, Modly reversed course and apologized for his remarks.

"Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naïve nor stupid," he said in a statement. "I think, and always believed him to be the opposite."

Modly went on to describe Crozier as "smart and passionate."

"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," Modly said. "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."

Modly's new statement came after President Donald Trump addressed the controversy at a news conference, saying he planned to intervene.

"The letter shouldn't have been sent," Trump said, referring to Crozier. "But all of that said, his career prior to that was very good, so I'm going to get involved and see exactly what's going on there because I don't want to destroy somebody for having a bad day."

Modly had delivered the sharply-worded speech to the Theodore Roosevelt crew members two days after a video appeared on social media showing dozens of them cheering for Crozier in a rousing farewell as he walked off the ship in Guam.

Modly said the governor of the U.S. territory told him that the release of Crozier’s letter caused great alarm among local residents who feared an influx of sailors infected with the virus.

“So think about that when you cheer the man off the ship who exposed you to that,” Modly said. “I understand you love the guy. It’s good that you love him. But you’re not required to love him.”

In justifying his decision to remove Crozier, Modly said the captain lost sight of the ship’s mission and “compromised critical information about your status intentionally to draw greater attention to your situation.”

“This put you at great risk,” Modly said.

Nearly 4,900 crew members were aboard the vessel. According to the latest figures, tests have been performed on 61 percent of the crew.

Some 173 have tested positive for the virus. More than 800 others are in isolation at a base on Guam, many of them still awaiting test results. About 1,150 crew members who tested negative were moved off the ship and placed in hotels. Nearly 2,900 sailors remain on board.

VIIDEOS ON LINK

'Too Naive or Too Stupid:' Acting SecNav Slams Fired Captain in Speech to Crew

THERE IS ADDITIONAL FOLLOW UP INFORMATION INCLUDING THAT BONE SPURS NEVER READ THE LETTER AND THE ACTING UNQUALIFIED SECRETARY OFTHE NAVY THOMAS MODLY HAS RE-CONSIDERED HIS ACTIONS....TOO MANY PEOPLE SUPPORT THE ACTIONS OF CAPTAIN CROZIER AND HAVE SIGNED PETITIONS.

THANKS TO ALL WHO SPOKE OUT! 



'Too Naive or Too Stupid:' Acting SecNav Slams Fired Captain in Speech to Crew

6 Apr 2020

Military.com | By Gina Harkins

The Navy's top civilian leader addressed the crew of a carrier days after firing their beloved commanding officer, slamming the captain as "too naïve or too stupid" to serve as their leader, according to a recording of the speech obtained by Military.com.

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly visited the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt after relieving Capt. Brett Crozier of command. The ship is sidelined in Guam as thousands of sailors are offloaded as novel coronavirus cases spread among the crew.

Crozier wrote a letter to Navy leaders last week pleading for help in dealing with the situation. Modly on Thursday relieved Crozier of command a day after saying the commander wasn't in the wrong for asking for help from his chain of command.

But Crozier copied too many people on his email, Modly said, a move he told the crew led to his relief.

Listen: Audio Recording of Modly's Address to the Roosevelt Crew

"If he didn't think ... 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 naïve or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this," Modly said in the recorded speech. A transcript of the speech was posted on the social media site Reddit.

Related: Fired Navy Carrier Captain Has Tested Positive for COVID-19: Report

In the recording, people can be heard loudly exclaiming with expletives in response to Modly's statement.

Modly in a statement said he hasn't listened to the recordings that have emerged of his speech, but said his 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," he said. "Anyone who has served on a Navy ship would understand. I ask, but don't expect, that people read them in their entirety."

There are nearly 5,000 crew members on the Theodore Roosevelt. CNN reported that Modly addressed the crew from the ship's loud-speaker system.

He told the crew members that Crozier not only betrayed him by sending a copy of his letter outside the chain of command, but his sailors as well. That has led to widespread media coverage about a "martyr CO," Modly said of the former commanding officer.

Modly went even further as to suggest that Crozier violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice if he sent the information to people outside his command on purpose.

"One of the things about [Crozier's] email that bothered me the most was saying that we are not at war, that we aren't technically at war," Modly added. "But let me tell you something: The only reason we are dealing with this right now is a big authoritarian regime called China was not forthcoming about what was happening with this virus and they put the world at risk to protect themselves and to protect their reputations.

"We don't do that in the Navy."

Modly also cautioned the crew against engaging with the media, which he said "has an agenda."

"There is ... no situation where you go to the media," he said. "... The agenda that they have depends on which side of the political aisle they sit, and I'm sorry that's the way the country is now, but it's the truth and so they use it to divide us and use it to embarrass the Navy. They use it to embarrass you."

There are at least 114 cases of COVID-19, the serious and sometimes-fatal illness caused by the coronavirus, among the carrier's crew. Crozier is one of them, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Navy officials did not respond to questions about whether Modly's comments about Crozier possibly violating the UCMJ raised concerns about unlawful command influence. They also did not answer questions about whether the secretary's comments implying Crozier was "stupid" were inappropriate given that he's now battling the same illness he warned was spreading quickly among his crew.

Modly told the crew that he "cannot control or attempt to change whatever anger you have with me for relieving your beloved CO." He also responded to former Vice President Joe Biden's claims that the firing decision was "criminal."

"I assure you it was not," Modly said. "Because I understand the facts, and those facts show that what your captain did was very, very wrong in a moment when we expected him to be the calming force on a turbulent sea."

After Crozier's relief, videos emerged on social media of the captain walking off the ship. The videos showed hundreds of sailors gathering to see him off, cheering "Captain Crozier, Captain Crozier." One person said that was how a crew sends off their greatest commanding officer of all time.

Modly in his speech said he understands why sailors might be angry with him for the rest of their lives. But he then appeared to challenge the crew to rethink their feelings for Crozier. The captain "lost sight" of his mission, Modly told them, and that put them at "great risk."

"Crew of the Teddy Roosevelt, you are under no obligation to love your leadership, only to respect it," he said. "... You are under no obligation to expect anything from your leaders other than they will treat you fairly and put the mission of the ship first."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Read More: Petition to Reinstate Fired Carrier Captain Goes Viral as Lawmakers Call for Probe

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