The former Captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt has weighed anchor for his new assignment

Source: Stars and Stripes

By Caitlin M. Kenney STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 5, 2020

WASHINGTON — Capt. Brett Crozier, the former commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, has left Guam where he had been fighting the coronavirus and has been reassigned to a position in California, according to a Navy official.

Crozier now reports to the commander of Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, based in San Diego, Cmdr. Ron Flanders, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces, wrote Tuesday in an email.

The captain was relieved of command of the aircraft carrier on April 2, several days after a letter that he wrote requesting the crew be evacuated from the ship due to an outbreak of the virus was leaked to the media.

Crozier warned in his letter that the outbreak could kill some sailors, and “if we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our sailors.”

Crozier is now special assistant to Capt. Max McCoy, the chief of staff for the commander of Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, according to Flanders.

Since that briefing, the entire 4,800-member crew of the Roosevelt has been tested for the coronavirus, the Navy has reported. The Navy’s last update Thursday stated there were 1,102 active cases of the virus among the ship’s crew, 53 sailors had recovered, and three were being treated at U.S. Naval Hospital Guam for symptoms. One Roosevelt sailor died April 13 from the virus.

Sailors have been returning to the Roosevelt after weeks of quarantine in Guam. Sailors who have tested negative repeatedly for the virus are allowed back on the ship, which has been cleaned, according to the Navy.

Former Captain of USS Theodore Roosevelt Reassigned

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