WASHINGTON – In an extraordinary broadside punctuated with profanity, the Navy’s top leader accused the fired commander of the COVID-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt of being “too naive or too stupid” to be in charge of an aircraft carrier.
He delivered the criticism to sailors who had cheered the departing skipper last week. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly harshly criticized Capt.
Brett E. Crozier — and by implication those among the crew who had vocally supported him — in a lengthy and passionate speech aboard the ship, which is pier-side at Guam.
Crew members are being taken off the ship to be tested for the coronavirus. At least 155 of the 4,865 members of the crew have tested positive, and the carrier is sidelined.