Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly has officially resigned, capping perhaps the most tumultuous 24-hour public relations fiasco the sea service has ever encountered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modly notified Secretary of Defense Mark Esper of his resignation Tuesday following a meeting between the two. Esper subsequently confirmed Modly\u2019s resignation in an official statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe resigned on his own accord, putting the Navy and the Sailors above self so that the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and the Navy as an institution, can move forward,\u201d Esper said in an official statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis care for the Sailors was genuine. Secretary Modly served the nation for many years, both in and out of uniform. I have the deepest respect for anyone who serves our country, and who places the greater good above all else. … I wish him all the best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Esper has appointed Acting United States Under Secretary of the Army James McPherson<\/a> as the new acting secretary of the Navy. McPherson was confirmed as the Army\u2019s number two official just 15 days ago<\/a>. He becomes the third Army official tapped by Esper in recent months to fill top roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modly\u2019s resignation comes less than 24 hours after numerous Democratic members of Congress called for his firing over his handling of the dismissal of Capt. Brett Crozier<\/a>, the former commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, who penned a leaked letter<\/a> pleading for U.S. intervention to stifle a COVID-19 outbreak on the 4,800-person ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday, Modly kicked off a whirlwind of events when he boarded a flight destined for Guam, where, upon arrival, he addressed Theodore Roosevelt sailors in a speech that immediately raised eyebrows throughout the fleet and in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the ship\u2019s 1MC intercom \u2014 the audio of the speech was obtained by Military Times<\/a> \u2014 Modly told Roosevelt sailors that their commanding officer was either \u201ctoo na\u00efve or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After learning that his speech had gone public, Modly released an official statement in which he doubled down, saying, \u201cI stand by every word I said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly before news of his resignation became public, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., slammed Modly\u2019s comments to the crew as \u201chighly inappropriate\u201d and said he needed to be removed from his post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cActing Secretary Modly\u2019s actions and words demonstrate his failure to prioritize the force protection of our troops,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cHe showed a serious lack of the sound judgement and strong leadership needed at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., accused Modly of taking a \u201ctone-deaf approach more focused on personal ego.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI disagree strongly with the manner in which acting Secretary of the Navy Modly has handled the COVID-19 outbreak on the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis decision to relieve Captain Crozier was at best an overreaction to the extraordinary steps the Captain took to protect his crew. Acting Secretary Modly\u2019s decision to address the sailors on the Roosevelt and personally attack Captain Crozier shows a tone-deaf approach more focused on personal ego than one of the calm, steady leadership we so desperately need in this crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With tensions escalating, President Donald Trump announced he would be stepping in<\/a> to play the role of mediator in an effort to quell the intensifying vitriol on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know what, you have two good people and they\u2019re arguing,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m good, believe it or not, at settling arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modly then reversed course, apologizing for the contents of his speech to Roosevelt sailors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do not think Captain Brett Crozier is na\u00efve nor stupid,\u201d Modly said. \u201cCaptain Crozier is smart and passionate. … I believe, precisely because he is not naive and stupid, that he sent his alarming email with the intention of getting it into the public domain in an effort to draw public attention to the situation on his ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amid the bureaucratic pandemonium, Modly managed to pen a 745-word opinion piece responding to a letter published days earlier in the New York Times by Theodore Roosevelt\u2019s great grandson<\/a>, Tweed Roosevelt, in which the 26th president\u2019s relative drew parallels between the actions of Crozier and those taken by his great-grandfather during a yellow fever and malaria outbreak in 1898.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have the utmost respect for Mr. Roosevelt and his family\u2019s immense heritage of service to the nation. In the case of Captain Crozier, however, he is wrong,\u201d Modly responded via the Navy Live blog, which was deleted shortly after its publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n