Navy widens investigation after advice to reinstate captain of Theodore Roosevelt: report

The Navy widened its investigation into whether the former captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt should be reinstated following a top military adviser’s suggestion, an official told The Hill in a statement. 

Acting Navy Secretary James McPherson said in a statement that he decided to open a fuller investigation into the firing of Capt. Brett Crozier, postponing the decision to reinstate him as head of the aircraft carrier. He said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday will conduct a “follow-on command investigation.”

“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,” McPherson said in the statement.

Crozier was removed from his post after a letter that he wrote to Navy officials pleading for help amid a coronavirus outbreak aboard the Roosevelt was leaked to the media in late March. 

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, a key adviser for President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, reportedly told the Navy secretary that he should defer a decision on Crozier’s potential reinstatement and open a fuller investigation. 

McPherson originally agreed with Gilday that Crozier should return to his position but reportedly changed his mind after hearing Milley’s suggestion, according to Politico.

“Following our discussion, I have unanswered questions that the preliminary inquiry has identified and that can only be answered by a deeper review,” McPherson said in the statement. 

Milley’s recommendation to the Defense secretary was “to ensure that the inquiry was as thorough as it needs to be to answer any questions the secretary may have had before finalizing the report,” a defense official told Politico. Milley is not against Crozier’s reinstatement but thinks an extended investigation is necessary.

The wider investigation could also end up reversing the previous recommendations from Navy officials for Crozier to be reinstated. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Crozier is currently in Guam recovering from COVID-19. The Navy has reported 940 active coronavirus cases and 29 recoveries from sailors aboard the Theodore Roosevelt, as of Tuesday. One sailor died from the virus. 

Rebecca Kheel contributed