Thomas Modly

USS Theodore Roosevelt in October 2019

Captain Brett Crozier was captain of the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, deployed in the Pacific. On March 24, 2020, after two weeks at sea, three members of the crew tested positive for COVID-19. The next day, eight more sailors were infected, and within a few days it was "dozens."

Crozier sent a letter to 10 people: Crozier's immediate superior, Rear Admiral Stuart P. Baker, plus two other admirals of U.S. forces in the Pacific, with copies to seven other Navy captains,[13] but not including Acting Secretary Modly or Modly's chief of staff.[14] The letter criticized the Navy's management of a COVID-19 outbreak onboard the Theodore Roosevelt,[15] and recommended decisive action to deal with it.[16][17][18][19] The letter was then leaked to the press.

On April 2, 2020, while serving as Acting Secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly dismissed Captain Crozier from command of the Theodore Roosevelt. Modly said he had lost confidence in Crozier's judgment because he claimed the letter went against the advice of Admiral Michael M. Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, who argued that usual Navy procedures would require an investigation before such an action.[20]

Modly also said he acted to prevent a repetition of a 2019 incident in which "the Navy Department got crossways with the president" after Trump's intervention in the case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher. "I put myself in the president's shoes," Modly stated. "I considered how the president felt like he needed to get involved in Navy decisions. I didn't want that to happen again."[14] The situation has been described as highlighting "a growing divide between senior uniformed commanders and their civilian bosses".[20]

On April 6, Modly flew to Guam and made a speech[21] to the Theodore Roosevelt′s crew over the ship's PA system. In it he criticized and ridiculed Crozier,[22][23] saying "if he didn't think that information was going to get out into the public...then he was [either] too naive or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this [or] he did this on purpose."[24]

In other parts of Modly's speech, he told the sailors: "you're not required to love" Crozier, and that the only thing they should expect from their leaders is to "treat you fairly and put the mission of the ship first".[25] Modly also used his speech to criticize the media, future Democratic Nominee Joe Biden, and China.[26][27]

While giving the speech, which The New York Times described as a "tirade",[28] Modly was heckled by some of the sailors.[29] Modly spent 30 minutes on the ship and left; the round trip taken by Modly took 50 hours[30] and was estimated to have cost taxpayers more than $243,000.[28][31] Due to his trip to the Theodore Roosevelt, Modly himself was quarantined.[32] Modly's comments were quickly leaked to the media first as a transcript and then as an audio recording.[33]

When questioned about his comments to the crew, Modly said he stood "by every word", including profanity that he said he used for emphasis.[34][35] He later apologized for his comments, saying "I believe, precisely because [Crozier] is not naive or 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."[29]

When the audio of his speech was released, Modly resigned the next day.[36]

Congressmen Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called on the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate whether Acting Secretary Modly had acted inappropriately in relieving Crozier of his command. The following week they sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper calling for Modly to be fired because of his comments to sailors aboard the Theodore Roosevelt and his decision to relieve Crozier.[37] Several other Democratic members of Congress, including Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, joined in the call for Modly's resignation or removal.[29] On April 7, Modly apologized for his comments and resigned from his position.[38]