A transcript, as well as the audio of Thomas Modly’s remarks to the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, were leaked today.
Sen. Tim Kaine slammed acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly today over the Navy leader’s criticism of the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, who was fired after raising alarms over the spread of coronavirus on the ship.
“Based on the transcript I’ve read, Secretary Modly’s comments were completely inappropriate and beneath the office of the Secretary of the Navy,” Kaine said in a statement.
In provocative remarks made to the Roosevelt’s crew and reported today by several media outlets, Modly criticized Capt. Brett Crozier for broadly emailing a letter requesting assistance for the ship’s personnel, which was later published by Crozier’s hometown newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle.
A transcript, as well as the audio of Modly’s remarks to the crew, were leaked to several media outlets today.
The acting Navy secretary said Crozier was “too naive, or too stupid to be the commanding officer of a ship like this” if he thought the contents of his letter wouldn’t become public.
“The alternative is that he did it on purpose,” Modly said, according to a recording. “And that’s a serious violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which you are all familiar with.”
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Sen. Tim Kaine slammed acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly today over the Navy leader's criticism of the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, who was fired after raising alarms over the spread of coronavirus on the ship https://t.co/XuBABKyuhQ
— POLITICO (@politico) April 6, 2020
They will teach Modley's speech at Annapolis for the next 100 years as a perfect textbook example of how not to lead and inspire. Every time you think it can't get worse, it gets worse. "It's not about me," he says, after complaining about all the negative publicity he's getting.
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 6, 2020
Not to keep hammering the same topic but…seriously…what the hell was Modly thinking? Then to roll out the PAO's saying "well…it was meant to be a private speech". You don't give a speech over MC1 and think it will be private. Have any of these people actually met a sailor?
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) April 6, 2020
I get profanity. A bad technique, but some use it.
What I don’t get is unprofessionalism, lack of self-awareness, substituting fear for trust, slamming the press & a lack of humility & empathy from leaders.
And that’s even before discussing poor relief procedures. https://t.co/gsTyIKKis0
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) April 6, 2020
Modly calls @IgnatiusPost at 1 am to explain why he fired Capt. Crozier, saying he wanted to act before Trump did, knowing that his predecessor was fired for getting "crossways with the president. I didn't want that to happen again." https://t.co/3Ty3MA4tgn
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) April 6, 2020
He could have just said, "I resign" but any port in a storm. https://t.co/ydeunQHSlL
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) April 7, 2020
Maybe it's time for a discussion of The Streisand Effect. https://t.co/ifY0QkwXy1
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) April 7, 2020
It's 8,000 miles each way to Guam; nearly 36 hours of the Secretary stuck in an airplane. Done more or less spur of the moment in the middle of a much larger crisis management situation for the Navy. https://t.co/3Bgb7hQbRQ
— David Burbach (@dburbach) April 7, 2020
There is a reason the Navy promoted Capt. Crozier to lead the USS T.R. one of 11 nuclear aircraft carriers, and his boss dropped out of the Navy as a junior helicoper pilot. Leadership.
— Ted Roosevelt (@RooseveltTed) April 7, 2020
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