U.S. Navy Capt. Brett Crozier was relieved of command of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt because Navy Secretary Thomas Modly had reason to believe he'd operated outside the chain of command when asking for stronger measures to help control a coronavirus outbreak on the ship, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday.
"In his estimation, he lost trust and confidence in the ship's captain," Milley told Fox News' Harris Faulkner. "Sec. Modly is a responsible and accountable official to the American people."
Milley said he does not have all the facts of the case, but he trusts Modly and will support him.
Crozier was relieved after penning a letter to the White House and Navy officials demanding relief for the nuclear-powered carrier, which is docked at Guam after more than 100 people on the ship had tested positive for the deadly coronavirus. The letter was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Milley said Modly determined that Crozier had operated with "poor judgment" and outside the chain of command. He said he's not aware of any White House or Department of Defense officials who warned against making quick decisions, but he does know that when the secretary of the Navy loses trust and confidence in a ship's captain, that's it.
"It's target down and we are moving on to the next task," said Milley. "Any time a secretary of the Navy, secretary of Defense, president of United States, or superior officer loses trust in a subordinate, the subordinate goes."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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