Chairman Courtney Statement on Reports Indicating U.S. Navy Reinstatement of Captain Brett Crozier, former Commanding Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt | Congressman Joe Courtney
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Chairman Courtney Statement on Reports Indicating U.S. Navy Reinstatement of Captain Brett Crozier, former Commanding Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt

April 24, 2020

NORWICH, CT – Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, made the following statement today after media reports indicated that the U.S. Navy has recommended the reinstatement of Captain Brett Crozier, the Commanding Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt:

"It is clear that Captain Crozier should never have been removed from his command in the first place, and the Navy's recommendation to reinstate him is the right call. It will be a tremendous boost to morale, and I believe it will restore the faith of the American people in its Navy. Commanding officers are given special trust and absolute responsibility for the health, safety, and discipline of their crew. Captain Crozier was confronted with an unprecedented pandemic outbreak, and took extraordinary measures, at the risk of his own career, to fulfill this responsibility on behalf of the best interest of the men and women under his command. That is the very definition of leadership.

"One of my constituents whose son serves aboard the TheodoreRoosevelt told me that she adamantly believes Captain Crozier's actions saved her son's life. As we've now seen, over 800 crew members aboard the Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive with cases of the virus, and hundreds of crew members are still in quarantine – that demonstrates that Captain Crozier exercised sound judgement, and did not ‘panic,' as was alleged at the time of his firing.

"The decision to reinstate Captain Crozier is best left to the Navy, and I hope there will be no further delay."

On April 3, Rep. Courtney, along with Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Adam Smith, issued a statement criticizing former-Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly's decision to relieve Captain Crozier of his post as commanding officer of the Theodore Roosevelt, calling it "a destabilizing move that will likely put our service members at greater risk and jeopardize our fleet's readiness."Click here to read the full statement.

After calling for former-Acting Secretary Modly's resignation on April 6, Courtney issued a statement on April 7 regarding reports that Mr. Modly has submitted a letter of resignation, noting that "it will hopefully allow the Navy to focus on caring for the crew and their families, as well as for a fresh review of Captain Crozier's punishment, which simple fairness demands."Click hereto read more.

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