{"id":14125,"date":"2020-09-19T17:14:36","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T17:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/19\/captain-says-he-knowingly-risked-career-with-virus-warning\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:52:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:52:26","slug":"captain-says-he-knowingly-risked-career-with-virus-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/2020\/09\/19\/captain-says-he-knowingly-risked-career-with-virus-warning\/","title":{"rendered":"Teddy Roosevelt captain says he knowingly risked career with virus warning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/04\/02\/navy-fires-theodore-roosevelt-skipper-following-leaked-letter-pleading-for-covid-19-assistance\/\" target=_blank>dismissed captain<\/a> of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier knew he was jeopardizing his military career when he broke protocol and sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/04\/16\/regardless-of-the-impact-to-my-career-croziers-email-revealed-navy-wont-rule-out-reinstatement\/\" target=_blank>now-famous email<\/a> warning of possible sailor deaths due to a coronavirus breakout on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Brett Crozier says in a witness statement obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle that he did so in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/03\/31\/theodore-roosevelt-captain-makes-urgent-plea-for-individual-quarantine-sites-as-covid-19-cases-multiply\/\" target=_blank>an urgent effort<\/a> to help avoid a \u201clarger catastrophe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/home\/left-column\/2020\/04\/03\/watch-the-heros-farewell-sailors-gave-their-fired-theodore-roosevelt-skipper\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"177\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-02-at-1.50.25-PM.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Watch the hero\u2019s farewell sailors gave their fired Theodore Roosevelt skipper<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">\u201cCaptain Crozier! Captain Crozier!\u201d the sailors chanted amid claps and cheers as their skipper walked along the gangway, leaving his ship of nealy 5,000 sailors.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crozier\u2019s witness statement, recorded in May during the Navy\u2019s investigation into the handling of the outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, provides a look at his thinking when he sent the March email that upended the military world and brought condemnation from the top Navy admiral overseeing the carrier. President Donald <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/04\/05\/defense-secretary-insists-trump-didnt-order-firing-of-theodore-roosevelt-commander\/\" target=_blank>Trump also criticized<\/a> Crozier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vice Adm. William Merz, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, told investigators that Crozier either did not understand military efforts underway to evacuate the crowded ship or wanted to undermine those efforts. Merz hypothesized that Crozier screwed up and panicked, or wanted to play hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEither way, he surrendered, and brings into question his resiliency and toughness in command,\u201d Merz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crozier, a native of Santa Rosa, California, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/05\/05\/fired-tr-commander-reassigned-to-san-diego\/\" target=_blank>stripped of his position<\/a> but received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/04\/03\/mom-of-theodore-roosevelt-sailor-devastated-by-firing-of-crozier\/\" target=_blank>a rousing hero\u2019s sendoff<\/a> from his crew, who credited him with saving their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"629\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TR-Guam.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TR-Guam.jpg.jpg 1199w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TR-Guam.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TR-Guam.jpg.jpg?resize=768,403 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TR-Guam.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,537 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt departs Apra Harbor, Guam, July 4, following an extended visit in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. (MCSN Kaylianna Genier\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A frustrated Crozier sent the letter March 30, saying that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/coronavirus\/2020\/04\/01\/pacific-fleet-commander-outlines-plans-for-containing-outbreak-on-carrier-roosevelt\/?utm_source=clavis\" target=_blank>more needed to be done<\/a> to remove 5,000 sailors from the carrier docked in Guam. More than 1,200 sailors eventually tested positive for the virus, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/04\/05\/fired-theodore-roosevelt-skipper-tested-positive-for-covid-19-says-new-york-times-report\/\" target=_blank>including Crozier<\/a>, who spent a month in Guam in isolation. Several were hospitalized and one died from COVID-19 complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crozier said he sent the email through unclassified channels because of quickly worsening conditions that demanded urgent action. Navy officers said that led to the memo being leaked and jeopardized sensitive talks with Guam officials to house sailors in hotel rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They said he was removed for poor handling of the breakout and for going outside the chain of command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy intent in sending the email \u2026 was to bring a sense of urgency to a rapidly deteriorating and potentially deadly situation onboard the (Theodore Roosevelt) and avoid a larger catastrophe and loss of life,\u201d Crozier said in the witness statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom my perspective, even just one more week of routine planning would have resulted in another week of exponential growth in positive cases and greater risk to more Sailors. We wanted to stop the administrative bureaucracy \u2026 so I sent up a red flare,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conditions on board the Roosevelt became public when the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the email. Crozier was dismissed from command April 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a witness statement, Capt. Brett Crozier said he wrote the now-famous email in an urgent effort to help avoid a \u201clarger catastrophe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":33436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[66,101,22,23,93,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1351],"class_list":["post-14125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"BLJ5JTZJ6FGEHGBJZ4J2USIPJE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/09\/19\/captain-says-he-knowingly-risked-career-with-virus-warning\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Teddy Roosevelt captain says he knowingly risked career with virus warning - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a witness statement, Capt. 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