Navy pulls captain of TR

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I'm a firm believer in 'Need to Know' too, but, sometimes when the upper echelon isn't listening to the cry for help, other steps are called for.
An aircraft carrier is a floating petri dish for this kind of virus. The 'Brass' probably didn't have the balls to call it into port to take the appropriate action.
I'll bet the Capt. was willing to 'fall on his sword' to save a lot of his sailors lives.

I would also think that most of these sailors are young and healthy
and most will shrug off this Corona with barely as much as a cough.

It's not a Cruise ship full of Geriatrics.

[Ryan_Cunningham]

Many arm-chair warriors complaining about the Skipper getting relieved for his actions who are incredibly myopic.

Think for a moment, an adversary who deliberately covers up or even downright lies about the severity of this event - Do you not think they may use this as a significant advantage given their recent posturing in a specific AO?

[URY914]

My assistant's son is on the TR.

[rfuerst911sc]

Do I think the captain was trying to support his crew yes I do . Do I think he was honestly trying to bubble up the issue up the chain yes I do . But with the public release of his actions that crossed the line . The military works differently than civilian life . There are a variety of reasons for that some have been touched on here .

I saw on the news this morning he has spent 30 years in the Navy and was on his way to a promotion to admiral . My point is he knows the rules and regulations and decided to go around protocol , he's lucky he was only relieved of command .

As I am typing this I am not clear on who released the letter to the press . I am sure an investigation is in progress and we may never know the outcome .

[island_dude]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

. . . Loose Lips Sink Ships.

Operations Security (OPSEC) Is a process that identifies critical information to determine if friendly actions can be observed by enemy intelligence, determines if information obtained by adversaries could be interpreted to be useful to them, and then execute selected measures that illuminate or reduce adversary exultation a friendly critical information


Actually if you were going to go after an aircraft carrier THIS is the opportune time, chaos, uncertainty, etc etc ... but that is only my 25 years of uniformed service opinion.

This ship is often in port at Guam, where it is protected by a huge arsenal at naval Base Guam, not to mention Anderson AFB. Every person on Guam certainly knows where the ship is. An aircraft carrier isn't exactly a small target and has the protection of a carrier battle group that accompanies it.

OPSEC is just a lame reason to justify dismissing a CO who is concerned about close to 4K of sailors and the ultimate need to keep the the ship operational. After all, what good does a carrier do for us if it can't be manned?

Not everything is political. Sometimes we just have to do the right thing for our servicemen and women.

[cabmandone]

My .02,
There's a reason the chain of command exists within our military. If what is being reported is accurate, that he went outside the chain of command, he should have been held accountable.

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by cabmando

My .02,
There's a reason the chain of command exists within our military. If what is being reported is accurate, that he went outside the chain of command, he should have been held accountable.

This is a pretty good article about the situation.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/04/02/carrier-commanding-officer-fired-over-plea-resources-went-public.html?ESRC=eb_200403.nl

Without Good Order and Discipline a military unit will fail.

NO ONE including myself, a Medical Officer, blames the Captain for looking out for his people, the point is, WE DO NOT NEED TO ADVERTISE OUR SHORTCOMINGS to people who want ill to befall us PERIOD

The source of this leak needs to be found and plugged up. It is possible the Captain’s letter was leaked by a low level person who had access to the letter. Regardless of the source, it must be found and plugged up.

The military culture is quite different than that in the corporate world. Unless you‘ve lived it by deploying to a forward undisclosed location, you probably won’t understand it. People’s lives depend on Good Order and Discipline.

I hope I have not offended or ruffled anyone’s feathers, but any breakdown of the chain of command is a recipe for disaster.

I’m curious what Seahawk thinks, since he was a Naval Aviator.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by greglepore

If it was simply for speaking out for his troops, its a disgrace.

He used non-secure e-mail to bypass the chain of command and snitch on his superiors.
That's politics, doesn't fly in the military. He got what he deserved.

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by island_dude

. . .OPSEC is just a lame reason to justify dismissing a CO who is concerned about close to 4K of sailors and the ultimate need to keep the the ship operational. After all, what good does a carrier do for us if it can't be manned?

Not everything is political. Sometimes we just have to do the right thing for our servicemen and women.

Disagree, OPSEC is everything. I could cite 100s of examples where loose lips cost the unnecessary loss of life.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

I’m curious what Seahawk thinks, since he was a Naval Aviator.

I was not a carrier aviator, I flew off of Frigates and Cruisers. I did, however, retire as a Navy Captain on my own terms...I related some uncomfortable truths to my chain of command that needed to be said. I was not asked to come to the next promotion party.

Trust me, I could have gone the WaPo route in a second...I chose not to because I took an oath. I said what had to be said and took my medicine.

With all that in mind, I do, however, agree with everything you have written.

From what I have read he went outside the chain of command with an unsecured email with at least twenty recipients.

If that is the case, he got off light. There are secure comms at his disposal: Use that route and take the hit quietly if you are so inclined. He apparently wasn't.

My opinion is only based on what has been reported. My friend's son isn't emailing a word.

RNajarian, I didn't know you were/are a medical officer. Thank you!

[dw1]

The captain of the TR screwed up big time (2) ways:

1. Bypassed chain of command

2. Sent information regarding the readiness of a US Navy vessel to perform its mission via an unsecured method of communication.

The captain of a ship the size of the TR has the responsibility to manage the situation and request through appropriate channels whatever support resources or guidance required to fulfill his assigned missions.

That being said, one has to also wonder how much "Navy politics" and his relationship with his boss played into this.

Full disclosure: I was an enlisted man in the USN in a prior life, many many years ago.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by svandamme

I would also think that most of these sailors are young and healthy
and most will shrug off this Corona with barely as much as a cough.

We can only hope that would be the case.

I would not want to have to explain to relatives of anyone who might die from this that they lost their loved one do to not having taken the best precautions possible.

[crustychief]

Bottom line is he violated the UCMJ, broke military law and was removed for just cause. We don't have the same liberties as civilians, we have strict rules and procedures to follow for a reason.

[Scott Douglas]

I think it's pretty obvious the chain of command wasn't moving as fast as the virus was on the TR.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I think it's pretty obvious the chain of command wasn't moving as fast as the virus was on the TR.

How do you know that?

Honestly, please don't speculate. Your post is exactly why the CO was fired.

[Scott Douglas]

All you have to do is look at how this virus spreads.

Look at the families that had birthday parties and have lost people to it.

A carrier is the last place I'd want to be with something like this on the loose. Well, maybe a close second to a submarine.

When all is said and done, there's going to be a lot more victims on the carrier than just the 1k that are in quarantine now.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by Baz

For me the biggest issue is how his letter got "leaked" to the public.

That's no bueno.....

My understanding is the leak is the major reason for the discipline.

[pmax]

Yes, yes, but what about the cook ?




















...

Sorry, too soon ?

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

We can only hope that would be the case.

I would not want to have to explain to relatives of anyone who might die from this that they lost their loved one do to not having taken the best precautions possible.

Well I'm sure they do take the best precautions possible,
but the Needs of the Carrier, outweigh the needs of the few.

[Deschodt]

there's a viral video of his entire crew on deck shouting his name and clapping for him as he disembarked... so he must have done something right.