The US Navy confirmed the dismissal of the commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, after he criticized the management of the Covid-19 epidemic aboard his ship.

"I will not return Captain Brett Krueger to his position as commander of Theodore Roosevelt, and he will not be eligible for a future leadership position," said Admiral Mike Guilday.

He told a news conference that Kruger would not be fired from the US Navy, and would be given a new position.

Theodore Roosevelt led to the resignation of Navy Commander Thomas Moodley, and was succeeded by Kenneth Braithwaite, who was announced by Admiral Gilde to be punished.

Last March, Kruger told the Pentagon that the Corona virus was spreading beyond his control on his ship, calling for immediate assistance to isolate his crew.

Krueger warned his presidents that "the spread of the disease is continuing and accelerating," appealing to them saying, "We are not at war, there is no need to die with sailors," in a message leaked to the daily "San Francisco Chronicle."

Senior Pentagon officials considered that Kruger had erred in leaking his message to the media.

condemnation

The dismissal, before conducting a formal pre-investigation, was widely condemned, especially by Democratic representatives, and considered a cruel and unfair punishment for a respected officer who wanted to protect the crew of his ship, and Admiral Gilde himself recommended that he be renamed.

But after conducting this careful investigation - which amounted to 88 pages - the highest ranking officer in the US Navy retracted his opinion.

He believed that Krueger's ruling on the management of the epidemic "was a cause of suspicion" among his crew in March, after he stopped at Danang's port in Vietnam, while the Covid-19 epidemic was widespread in Asia.

He continued that Krueger and Baker - who were also on board the carrier - failed to address the problem and take responsibility, and in many cases they gave preference to the crew's comfort for his safety.

Theodore Roosevelt experienced the first outbreaks of the Covid-19 epidemic in the US military, with about a thousand crew members infected and sailors dying of the virus.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said that Defense Secretary Mark Esper supported the decisions of the US Navy.