Facing public criticism and calls by legislators to resign, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said sorry on Monday for lambasting the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt as “stupid” and “naive” in an earlier speech to the ship’s crew.
” Let me be clear, I do not believe Captain Brett Crozier is naïve nor foolish,” Modly said in a statement, CNN reported “I think, and constantly believed him to be the opposite. We choose our provider commanding officers with terrific care. Captain Crozier is smart and passionate.”
After audio leaked of @SECNAV calling Captain Brett Crozier “too naive or too silly” to be the commander of USS Roosevelt, he has actually provided this apology, through @CBSDavidMartin: pic.twitter.com/b8GdP1q2Yl
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) April 7, 2020
Modly’s apology stands in stark contrast to the blistering address he offered Monday morning to the Roosevelt’s team about Crozier, whom the acting secretary accused of “ betrayal”
Modly fired Crozier from his post last week after an email the captain penned to Navy leaders was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle In his email, Crozier advocated more swift and comprehensive action to resolve a coronavirus outbreak on his ship.
If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most relied on possession– our Sailors,” wrote Crozier, who was provided a warm send-off by his crew on Friday.
More than 170 members of the Roosevelt’s crew have checked positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, per CNN. The New york city Times reported on Sunday that Crozi