Top US Navy official who resigned under pressure was reportedly angry at an aircraft carrier crew's emotional send-off of the captain he had fired

modly

Former acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly was angered by the videos of sailors cheering for their recently-fired commander, according to The New York Times.
Modly then took a jet to fly to Guam to address the ship's crew — a trip that reportedly cost over $243,000.
Modly was not the only Navy official vexed by the circumstances: Adm. Robert Burke, the vice chief of naval operations, reportedly told the ship's senior medical officer that they failed as a leader, two crew members told The Times.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Former acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly was angered by the videos of sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt cheering for their recently-fired commander, according to a New York Times report published Sunday.

Modly, who on April 3 fired the aircraft carrier's commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, was angry after several videos showed dozens of crew members gathering to send off Crozier with applause and cheers, Navy officials told The Times. Videos of the incident trended online and have since garnered support for the departed commander, who was removed after his letter pleading Navy leaders for help with a coronavirus outbreak leaked to the press.

Modly then took a jet to fly to Guam to address the ship's crew — a trip that reportedly cost over $243,000. Using the ship's announcement system, Modly defended his decision to fire Crozier in a 15-minute profanity-laced speech and expressed continued support for the crew. Audio of the all-hands call were eventually leaked to news organizations.

"That's your duty. Not to complain. Everyone's scared about this thing," Modly said in the call. "But I'll tell you something, if this ship was in combat and there were hypersonic missiles coming at it, you'd be pretty f---ing scared too. But you do your jobs. And that's what I expect you to do."

Modly was not the only Navy official vexed by the circumstances. Adm. Robert Burke, the vice chief of naval operations, reportedly told the ship's senior medical officer that they failed as a leader, two crew members told The Times.

Brett Crozier Theodore Roosevelt

Modly fired Crozier after the captain warned about the coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship. The warning, which came in the form of a four-page letter, was sent by email to over 20 people; and eventually leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle.

According to Modly, Crozier violated military protocols, circumventing the chain of command by sending the letter to a group of people. Modly said that while he did not know how the letter got to the media, there was a "proper way" for Crozier to handle his concerns.

"If he didn't think ... that if he didn't think that information wasn't going to get out into the public, in this information age that we live in, then he was either A: too naive, or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this," Modly said of Crozier. "The alternative is that he did this on purpose."

Modly's comments immediately sparked intense backlash from lawmakers and the ship's sailors. Modly later walked backed his comments and apologized. He resigned on April 7.

In his final message to the entire Navy, Modly admitted his comments were "a poor use of words."

"You are justified in being angry with me about that," Modly said in the message, according to the Navy Times. "There is no excuse, but perhaps a glimpse of understanding, and hopefully empathy."

"But what's done is done," he added. "I can't take it back, and frankly I don't know if I walked back up that quarterdeck today if I wouldn't have the same level of emotions that drove my delivery yesterday."

Crozier has since been in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus. Over 580 of the USS Theodore Roosevelt's crew of 4,800 tested positive as of Sunday, according to the Navy. Nearly 4,000 of the crew members have since evacuated the ship into Guam, where many of them are under quarantine in hotels.

Join the conversation about this story »