So far in this series of government disasters over COVID-19, only one man has risen to the occasion above and beyond the call of duty: Captain Brett Crozier, the former commander of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt.
About 100 crew members had contracted COVID-19. He therefore sent an unusual email request to his senior officers. He wanted the crew to be taken off the ship, where self-isolation is impossible. He wanted them transferred to facilities on Guam. His request included this statement:
“We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our sailors.”
He also sent copies to civilians. He did not use a secure email system.
He knew what he was doing. He was ending his career. He was placing higher value on the lives of those under his command than he was on his own career. He was admitting that he could not handle the problem of command on board his vessel. That was a suicidal admission. I am sure he knew this.
On Thursday, he was relieved of his command. Here is a video of his departure.
I don't know who it was who made this decision. I shall call him Admiral Dork.
Admiral Dork is a peacetime admiral. This means that he has never seen combat. The entire Navy has not been in a serious combat situation since 1945. It has therefore been staffed by time-servers, rules-observers, and brown-nosers. This is how you rise in any government bureaucracy, and the United States Navy is the ultimate bureaucracy in the federal government. The only time that the Navy is ever called on to do anything risky is in a naval war, and there has not been a war in which ships and lives were at risk since 1945. Fighter pilots were at risk in Vietnam, including Marine pilots. That was a long time ago. Senior officers have been safe and sound ever since August 1945 . . . if they followed the rules.
So, Admiral Dork followed the rules. He removed Captain Crozier from command.
Captain Crozier has set a precedent. He called for help, and he did it in unsecured emails. It was a precedent outside the rules of the Navy, and especially a peacetime, intensely bureaucratic Navy that has not had any life-and-death combat risks for 75 years.
One email got leaked. That got publicity. The Navy then gave the crew the off-ship treatment that Captain Crozier wanted. But then Admiral Dork got even.
This is how bureaucracies work.
Admiral Dork and the Navy senior brass got the civilian Acting Secretary of the Navy to announce the firing of Captain Crozier. There is no Secretary of the Navy. The previous one was fired last November, and he has not been replaced.
It is time for Trump to take action.
THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF
Crozier paid attention to what his commander-in-chief was saying to the public. President Trump was making it clear that this is an emergency situation. A lot of lives are at stake. He was following the advice of his epidemiologists by recommending the isolation of infected people.
This meant that as soon as members of the ship's crew became infected, the captain had to change policies. But such a change threatens the entire United States Navy. There are no old people on board ships, so the Navy does not plan to practice social distancing. That would be inconvenient. It would disrupt existing rules.
Captain Crozier understood this. So, he took effective action to get the rules changed for his crew. He sent emails outside the chain of command.
Admiral Dork decided to teach Captain Crozier a lesson.
Here's what I would do if I were President Trump. President Trump understands theater. This is my script.
President Trump calls a press conference related to Captain Crozier. The media would not be able to resist this. The camera crews would show up.
He would bring in Captain Crozier and Admiral Dork. He would introduce them both. He would then ask Admiral Dork why he relieved Captain Crozier of his command.
Admiral Dork would do it by the book. He would cite regulations. He would look like what he is: a time serving, risk-averse bureaucrat. President Trump would let them talk.
Then he would ask Captain Crozier to take off his jacket.
He would then say this. "Captain Crozier I am elevating you to the rank of admiral. You are specifically replacing Admiral Dork."
He would then ask Admiral Dork to take off his jacket and place it on the shoulders of Captain Crozier. It wouldn't fit, but it wouldn't have to.
He would then say this: "Admiral Dork, I am reducing you to the rank of ensign. Your new assignment will be to serve on the Theodore Roosevelt."
Then he would say this: "Gentlemen, you are dismissed."
Then he would turn to the camera crews and the assembled journalists and say this:
I hope I have sent a clear message to every senior officer in the United States military. This nation is in a crisis because of the coronavirus. From this time on, the most important single assignment that every senior military officer has is this: to protect the lives of those under his or her command. Until this crisis is over, this is my command to every senior officer. Violate this command, and your career will soon resemble the career of Ensign Dork."
The message would get up and down the chain of command in less than an hour.
The public would cheer. His public opinion ratings would go up at least two percentage points by the end of the day.
This would also show the public that he is deadly serious about the threat of the coronavirus.
Will he do this or anything like it? I don't think so. Should he do it? Absolutely. He should get his message out to the time-servers, risk-avoiders, and brown-nosers in the senior levels of military command of this country. He would put them on notice about the importance of his policies to reduce the threat to the nation. He would do it in a graphic and memorable way.
This would be all over YouTube within an hour.
It would be the lead broadcast of every television network in America, and it might be the lead broadcast in every television network in the English-speaking world.
Admiral Dork would of course send his letter of resignation when he got back to his office to clear out his desk. He would do so in obscurity. He would do so after having been totally humiliated in front of his peers and the nation. That is what he deserves, whoever he is.
Admiral Crozier would take over his slot. There would be a lot of talk behind his back, but nothing of any consequence. Bureaucratic survivors know when to remain in port until a storm blows over. "Welcome aboard, Brett." "No one around here liked Dork." "You did the right thing. We all thought so as soon as we heard about your decision."
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