‘Hero’ Navy captain tests positive for coronavirus after being ousted for warning about outbreak on his ship

‘Hero’ Navy captain tests positive for coronavirus after being ousted for warning about outbreak on his ship
YOKOSUKA, Japan (Jul. 12, 2018) Capt. Brett E. Crozier, commanding officer of the U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), shows Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer and his wife, Polly Spencer, the bridge during a tour of the ship. Spencer met with leadership and spoke with the crew. Blue Ridge and her crew have now entered a final upkeep and training phase in preparation to become fully mission capable for operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2rd Class Jordan KirkJohnson) File# 180712-N-NM917-057
David Badash
and
The New Civil Rights Movement
April 05, 2020 | 12:37PM ETNews & Politics

At least 155 sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of the Navy’s Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carriers, have tested positive for coronavirus. That number is now be at least 156, as its former commanding officer, Captain Brett Crozier, has just tested positive for the deadly virus, The New York Times reports.

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly fired Captain Crozier after a letter the Captain sent to his superiors pleading for help, and begging them to not sit by and let his sailors die, was leaked to the press.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump justified the firing of Captain Crozier during an especially off-the-rails press conference. Trump blamed Crozier for writing “a five page letter,” and said writing the letter was “terrible,” calling it was “inappropriate” to send the letter. The President also blamed Crozier for stopping in Vietnam and letting sailors off the ship, which would not have been Crozier’s decision.

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