Acting Navy secretary offers to resign over handling of virus-stricken aircraft carrier

It is unclear whether Defense Secretary Mark Esper will accept the resignation.


By LARA SELIGMAN
04/07/2020 03:02 PM EDT

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly offered to resign on Tuesday following an uproar over a profanity-laced address to the crew of the coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on Sunday, according to a senior defense official with knowledge of the matter.

Modly submitted his resignation letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday after meeting with his boss one-on-one, that official said. Neither Esper nor the White House pressured Modly to resign, the official said, and it is unclear whether Esper will accept it.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon did not return requests for comment.

Modly's offer caps an extraordinary 24 hours following the Monday morning leak of the acting Navy leader's address to the crew of the Roosevelt while the ship is tied up in Guam. Modly, who fired the ship's commanding officer Capt. Brett Crozier on Thursday, late Monday was forced to issue an apology to the crew after calling Crozier's decision to send a letter requesting assistance to a broad array of Navy personnel "naive" and "stupid."

Modly's offer caps an extraordinary 24 hours following the Monday morning leak of the acting Navy leader's address to the crew of the Roosevelt while the ship is tied up in Guam. Modly, who fired the ship's commanding officer Capt. Brett Crozier on Thursday, late Monday was forced to issue an apology to the crew after calling Crozier's decision to send a letter requesting assistance to a broad array of Navy personnel "naive" and "stupid."

Modly's remarks, which sailors recorded and leaked to the media on Monday, prompted more than a dozen members of Congress to call for Modly's resignation.

"I want to apologize to the Navy for my recent comments to the crew of the TR,” Modly said in a statement Monday night. “Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is na?ve nor stupid. I think, and always believed him to be the opposite.”

The apology came just hours after Modly doubled down on his remarks, issuing a statement saying he stands by "every word."

The turmoil began after a virus outbreak forced the Roosevelt, which was deployed in the Pacific, to dock in Guam and begin quarantining sailors from the ship. Crozier sent the letter asking for help from Navy leadership on March 30, and Modly fired Crozier three days later over his decision to email the letter to several Navy personnel rather than using official secured channels.

In the letter, Crozier urged "decisive action" to remove the "majority of personnel" from the carrier.

“We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," Crozier wrote. "If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our sailors.”

Upon firing Crozier last Thursday, Modly told reporters that the Navy was already surging people and resources to help the ship fight the outbreak. Modly had also offered to give Crozier his cell number so he could get the ship what it needs.

“I could reach no other conclusion that Capt. Crozier had allowed the complexity of his challenge with the Covid breakout on the ship to overwhelm his ability to act professionally when acting professionally was what was needed at the most at the time," Modly told reporters on Thursday. "We do and we should expect more from the commanding officers of our aircraft carriers."

Roughly 2,000 sailors have been moved ashore and are in isolation as the Navy tests the personnel aboard the ship. More than 150 sailors have tested positive for the coronavirus.

President Donald Trump signaled on Monday night that he didn't think Crozier's career should end over the letter asking for help from Navy leaders and describing the crew's condition in dire terms. Trump said he planned to "get involved" in the decision because "you have two good people and they're arguing."

On Crozier, Trump said that "the letter shouldn't have been sent," but added that "his career prior to that was very good."