Vela Issues Statement on Firing of USS Theodore Roosevelt Commanding Officer in the Midst of Global Crisis

Statement

Today, Congressman Filemon Vela (D-TX) issued the following statement in response to the firing of the Commanding Officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt by Acting Secretary of the Navy.

"The rash and emotional decision by the Acting Secretary of the Navy to fire the Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is deeply troubling in this time of global crisis. The act is truly unprecedented. Normally commanding officers are relieved by their immediate superiors instead this one was fired by the Pentagon," said Congressman Vela. The firing appears to be politically motivated as the result of a letter released to the media painting the picture of a dire situation that was dismissed by the chain of command. A situation that none of us can fully appreciate, because the situation on the ground is often far worse than what we hear in letters and phone calls.

"Commanding Officers are empowered with immense authority to make life or death decisions and are authorized under military regulations to protect their ships. Yet yesterday a Commanding Officer was fired for doing just that. The Acting Secretary's comments about the incident are inconsistent and disappointing. Firing a respected leader with a distinguished career for what the Secretary trivialized as, carelessness in who he CC'd on an email, is unacceptable. The decision is even more troubling because it indicates to our adversaries that our military leadership does not trust its commanders, which will put our ships at greater risk when operating in places like the Strait of Hormuz or the South China Sea.

"For whatever reason the letter from the Commanding Officer to the Acting Secretary was made public and we should find out why that happened. Nearly 3 years ago, America lost 17 Sailors in two incidents at sea because Commanding Officers' concerns were largely ignored by leadership, and who were forced to sea despite their reservations. Today, I fear we have repeated history and fired a competent commander when the real problem is the Pentagon's leadership politicizing the situation. The Pentagon's lack of transparency and clear direction when dealing with COVID-19 has left unit commanders confused and helpless during this global emergency.

"I encourage the Pentagon to look carefully at its policies. We are not at war, nor have I seen intelligence that our enemies are exploiting the situation, because our enemies right now are facing the same crisis. Any information to the contrary should be briefed to Congress expeditiously. We need to balance our policies that preserve human life against the present military threats, and right now our greatest threat is COVID-19. I hope Congress will get to hear the facts of the situation and that Captain Crozier will be given the chance to tell his side of the story."

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