• Pandemic Coronavirus: Breaking News
  • The coronavirus knocks out the first US aircraft carrier since World War II

The Pentagon on Thursday removed the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, affected by an outbreak of coronavirus, highlighting the mishandling by the communications officer of how the disease spread throughout the ship.

Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said Captain Brett Crozier was wrong to distribute copies of an emotional four-page letter to a wide range of people describing the threat of the outbreak to the nearly 5,000 sailors on the ship, allowing It was leaked earlier this week to US media, before senior defense officials saw it.

Modly said that while there have been 114 cases of coronavirus in the crew so far, none have been serious and Crozier exaggerated the situation by suggesting that the sailors would die without prompt action. Brett Crozier "demonstrated extremely poor judgment in the midst of a crisis" in his handling of the letter, Modly said. "He misrepresented the facts of what was happening on the ship" and created "a bit of a panic" that was unnecessary, he said.

"I have no doubt that Captain Crozier did what he thought was best for the safety and well-being of his crew," Modly said, but "unfortunately, he did the opposite." In addition to scaring the families of the sailors, "it raised concerns about the operational capabilities and safety of that ship, which could have emboldened our adversaries to seek advantage," he said.

The Roosevelt, one of the two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers in the western Pacific, is now docked on the U.S. island of Guam, where most of the crew was disembarked and transferred to shore accommodation to decontaminate the ship.

The Navy said Rear Admiral Carlos Sardiello, a former Roosevelt captain, will replace Crozier.

By marginalizing the Roosevelt, the coronavirus outbreak hampered a key asset in the U.S. military response , though Defense officials say there are no immediate strategic threats and that the ship can quickly go to sea if necessary.

Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the adversaries' armed forces are also being challenged by COVID-19.

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