The P&R Plague Thread (Covid-19)

funhusker said:
I've never served in the military, so I'm probably missing something.

But his sailors obviously had great respect.  What did Capt. Crozier do that got him this?  Did he step outside chain of command, or what?  
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He's the captain who wrote a letter to the brass begging to be allowed to go to port to treat his crew because over 1/4 of them had coronavirus, and the rest were going to get it in such cramped quarters.  His ship was losing operational ability due to the spread of the virus, and nothing was being done.

As a result, the Pentagon (and maybe someone higher up than that) relieved him of his command.

Clearly his sailors have more respect for him than the bureaucrats in Washington.

 
funhusker said:
I've never served in the military, so I'm probably missing something.

But his sailors obviously had great respect.  What did Capt. Crozier do that got him this?  Did he step outside chain of command, or what?  
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He is the one that wrote a letter sounding the alarm about the COVID-19 outbreak on his ship.  Supposedly, a high percentage of the sailers were sick with COVID and the military wasn't doing anything about it.  His letter precipitated many being evacuated off the ship.

But....the administration was pissed that he did it so, they relieved him of his command.

 
There was another video of this on Facebook. Here's one of the comments:

Christine Spears My son is on this ship. One of his berthmates was tested and pulled off a few days ago, two cots down from him. There is no way to quarantine. This was spreading and would continue to spread without getting them off ship and completely isolated. I'm sure the captain raised his concerns and got little to no (or a slow) reaction from those people, so he felt he had no choice but to go beyond for the men and women counting on his leadership. It seems to be a hallmark of his career, caring for his sailors. Thank you Captain Crozier.
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@knapplc @BigRedBuster

I mean I knew who he is, just wasn't sure why a letter like that would get him fired.  It's definitely a "bad look" (VERY bad in my civilian opinion).  But this article seems to explain it pretty well.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2020/04/aircraft-carrier-captain-fired-poor-judgement-over-coronavirus-letter/164336/?oref=d-river

Long story short, he got frustrated and desperate and sent out a public letter to people not involved in the daily workings of his ship.  I'm not sure what normal protocols are, but I'm assuming he didn't follow them.  The Navy apparently was working to resolve the situation by bringing infected sailors to shore.

 
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funhusker said:
@knapplc @BigRedBuster

I mean I knew who he is, just wasn't sure why a letter like that would get him fired.  It's definitely a "bad look" (VERY bad in my civilian opinion).  But this article seems to explain it pretty well.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2020/04/aircraft-carrier-captain-fired-poor-judgement-over-coronavirus-letter/164336/?oref=d-river
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He did not exercise poor judgment. He's a career officer, and he knew very well what that letter would do.

He understood the risk to his crew was greater than the risk to his career, and he chose to save his crew.

He's a hero.

 
funhusker said:
In our eyes, yes.

But the military is weird...
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I've never been in the military either.  But, my understanding is that a commander has the duty to follow orders.....unless they are illegal or he feels that the situation puts his own men/women in unnecessary danger.  He didn't feel the military was dealing with the situation properly.  So, he took his own actions to keep his sailers safe.  It affected his career.  But, I bet if asked, he would do it all again for their sake.  

 
BigRedBuster said:
I've never been in the military either.  But, my understanding is that a commander has the duty to follow orders.....unless they are illegal or he feels that the situation puts his own men/women in unnecessary danger.  He didn't feel the military was dealing with the situation properly.  So, he took his own actions to keep his sailers safe.  It affected his career.  But, I bet if asked, he would do it all again for their sake.  
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Agree 100%.  

I actually just read his letter.  There wasn't anything "panicky" about it.   It was based on research and the closest example he had in the "Diamond Princess".  I think it is an overreaction by people higher up the chain.

I was just genuinely curious what they used for rationale.  I can understand it, but do not agree with it.  At all.

If you haven't read his letter, it's in this article.: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Exclusive-Captain-of-aircraft-carrier-with-15167883.php

 
I know those sailors are already at risk and have been exposed and I get they want to support their Capitan. I may be way off base here but maybe don't gather so many people so close together and further expose yourself? Ultimately they shouldnt even still be on the boat but still

 
Nebfanatic said:
I know those sailors are already at risk and have been exposed and I get they want to support their Capitan. I may be way off base here but maybe don't gather so many people so close together and further expose yourself? Ultimately they shouldnt even still be on the boat but still
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Ummm.....a large part of why he wrote the letter is because it's impossible to social distance on the boat. 

 
BigRedBuster said:
Ummm.....a large part of why he wrote the letter is because it's impossible to social distance on the boat. 
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I get that part but I really don't think that means they should give up on even trying. Again, maybe I'm way off base but it seems to me if you are in a tough position with social distancing in the first place you should be taking every precaution possible since its more likely a good percentage of people are infected 

 
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