Armed Services chair: ‘Perfectly legitimate’ for Navy to expand Roosevelt probe, but Crozier should be reinstated

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday said it is “perfectly legitimate” for the Navy to expand its investigation into the coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, but maintained the ship’s former commander should still be reinstated now.

Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) was speaking to reporters after being briefed by acting Navy Secretary James McPherson on his decision to widen the service’s investigation into the situation on the aircraft carrier, effectively delaying a decision about whether to reinstate Capt. Brett Crozier as the ship’s commander.

“I do think it’s perfectly legitimate to extend the investigation about everything that happened with the Roosevelt,” Smith told reporters on a teleconference. “It was the first major outbreak within [the Department of Defense] in a difficult situation, so what happened? How did the various people in the chain of command respond to it? How did the captain respond to it, how did the sailors respond to it, how did the fleet commander respond to it, how did [Indo-Pacific Command]? What happened when they got to Guam? What was ready, what wasn’t ready? What was the decision-making process?”

“I think a forensic analysis of that is enormously important, and I completely agree that that’s not something that you can get done in a week or two weeks or whatever it’s been,” he continued. “However, on the question of whether or not Capt. Crozier is the right person to continue the command that they gave him in the first place, I believe that question should have been clearly answered to this point, and I think it should be answered in the affirmative.”

The Navy verbally briefed Defense Secretary Mark Esper on its investigation into the Roosevelt on Friday, during which officials reportedly recommended reinstating Crozier. The Pentagon said Friday that Esper was awaiting a written copy of the investigation before discussing “next steps” with the Navy.

After reports emerged about the Navy’s recommendation, Smith called on Esper to reinstate Crozier “immediately.”

“From everything that’s come out and everything that I’ve seen, there was no reason to relieve him of his command,” Smith added Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, McPherson announced he directed Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday to conduct a “deeper review” into the Roosevelt after having “unanswered questions that the preliminary inquiry has identified.”

“Therefore, I am directing Adm. Gilday to conduct a follow-on command investigation,” McPherson said in a statement. “This investigation will build on the good work of the initial inquiry to provide a more fulsome understanding of the sequence of events, actions and decisions of the chain of command surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt.” 

The outbreak aboard the Roosevelt turned into a political firestorm after a letter Crozier wrote pleading for help leaked in the press. Crozier was fired as commander of the ship by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who later resigned after giving a speech aboard the Roosevelt where he called Crozier “stupid” or “naive.”

As of Tuesday, the Navy said there were 940 active cases of coronavirus among the crew, with another 29 sailors having recovered from the virus. The Navy also announced Tuesday night that sailors who had been taken off the ship to quarantine were starting to return to the ship.