Covid-19 coronavirus: Acting US Navy boss submits resignation amid uproar

United States Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly. Photo / AP file

United States Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned today, according to two officials, just hours after he had publicly apologised for a profanity-laced upbraiding of the officer he fired as captain of the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Modly's designated replacement will be James McPherson, a Navy veteran who is currently serving undersecretary of the Army. He was confirmed in that position by the Senate last month. Prior to that he was the Army's general counsel.

Modly had created a combustible controversy by firing the Roosevelt's skipper, Captain Brett Crozier, last week, saying Crozier had shown "extremely poor judgment" in widely distributing by email a letter calling for urgent help with the Covid-19 outbreak aboard his ship.

Modly then flew to the ship, at port in Guam, and delivered a speech to the crew in which he lambasted Crozier, saying he was either "too naive or too stupid" to be in charge of an aircraft carrier.

Wuhan celebrates the end of its coronavirus lockdown after 76 long days https://t.co/GeGyqMjSix

— TIME (@TIME) April 7, 2020

Yesterday, at Defence Secretary Mark Esper's insistence, Modly issued a public apology, but by then the calls among Democrats in Congress for his resignation were mounting. Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Modly must go.

"Sadly, Acting Secretary Modly's actions and words demonstrate his failure to prioritise the force protection of our troops," Pelosi said in a written statement. "He showed a serious lack of the sound judgment and strong leadership needed during this time. Acting Secretary Modly must be removed from his position or resign."

At least 173 sailors aboard the ship had tested positive for the coronavirus. About 2000 of the 4865 crew members had been taken off the ship to be tested.

The long road to recovery for Covid-19 patients https://t.co/mN9bO4BdAK

— The Guardian (@guardian) April 7, 2020

The episode, which began when the Roosevelt reported its first Covid-19 case among the crew on March 22, two weeks after making a port visit in Vietnam, is one of the more extraordinary dramas in recent US military history.

In addition to the health threat posed to the crew of more than 4800 sailors, the outbreak has sidelined the warship indefinitely and created conflict at the highest levels of the Pentagon.

Esper had publicly expressed his support for Modly's decision to fire Crozier, but after Modly's speech about the ship, Esper grew unsettled. Just hours after Modly issued a statement yesterday defending his words, Esper compelled Modly to reverse course and issue a public apology.

"I want to apologise for any confusion this choice of words may have caused," he wrote, referring to his speech aboard the Roosevelt. "I also want to apologise directly to Captain Crozier, his family, and the entire crew of the Theodore Roosevelt for any pain my remarks may have caused."

- AP