Brett Crozier
Hand out file photo dated January 21, 2018 of Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), observes from the ship's bridge as the ship departs from dry dock in Yokosuka, Japan. The US navy has dismissed the commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, who had raised the alarm about an outbreak of coronavirus on his ship. Thomas Modly, the acting secretary of the navy, said that Captain Brett Crozier had been relieved of his command of the nuclear-powered carrier because he had copied in too many people on an internal memo on Monday, in which he urgently appealed for members of his crew who had fallen ill to be allowed to disembark for medical care in Guam. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Patrick Semales/US Navy/ABACAPRESS.COMMass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Patrick Semales/US Navy/ABACAPRESS.COM/Reuters
- TitleFormer commander
- AffiliationU.S.S. Roosevelt
As the coronavirus spread quickly through his aircraft carrier, Crozier urged his superior to help him evacuate stricken crew—and then wrote a plea to other brass after relief was slow in coming. When the letter was leaked to the press, it prompted Crozier’s removal—but not before drawing the nation’s attention to the threat posed to our troops, a reality driven home on April 13 when a sailor from the ship died from the virus.