On Thursday, April 2, the US Navy relieved the commander of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote a scathing letter that leaked to the public asking the Navy for stronger measures to control a COVID-19 outbreak onboard the ship.
Specifically, Reuters informed of the captain’s removal, after it was announced by acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who said the commander exercised poor judgment.
Modly added that the letter that was sent through the chain of command, was not safeguarded and was leaked outside the chain, commenting that the letter “raised alarm bells unnecessarily.”
Concerning the vessel, it has been reported that more than 100 personnel have been positively tested for coronavirus so far.
In the letter, the captain called for “decisive actions”, proposing the removal of over 4,000 sailors from the ship and isolating them. He said that unless the Navy acted immediately, it would be failing to properly safeguard “our most trusted asset – our sailors.”
The carrier was in the Pacific when the Navy reported its first coronavirus case a week ago. It has since docked at U.S. Naval Base Guam on the southern end of the American island territory in the western Pacific.
