Thread by @DanLamothe

EXCLUSIVE: The world has been talking about Navy Capt. Brett Crozier’s memo that raised alarm about the spread of coronavirus on the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

It was attached to an email that had not surfaced publicly – until now. 1/

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

In this piece for @washingtonpost, we reconstruct the USS Theodore Roosevelt crisis using previously unreported memos, emails and text messages. We also interviewed a couple dozen people. 2/

A key detail: As Captain Crozier pushed “send,” he acknowledged to admirals that it could have personal consequences.

“I believe if there is ever a time to ask for help it is now regardless of the impact on my career,” he wrote. 3/

Captain Crozier also took some blame.

“I fully realize that I bear responsibility for not demanding more decisive action the moment we pulled in, but at this point my only priority is the continued well-being of the crew and embarked staff,” he wrote. 4/

The email obtained was sent to three senior officers: Adm. John Aquilino, Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller and Rear Adm. Stuart Baker. 5/

Acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly alluded to this as he announced that he was ousting Crozier for “bad judgment” in sending the message.

Modly said it went to Crozier’s “task group commander (Baker), to Admiral Aquilino, to the Air Boss (Miller).” 6/

But then Modly exaggerated as he sought to justify his decision.

“But it was copied to 20 or 30 other people, OK?" Modly told reporters.

If so, it wasn't by Crozier in the original message. 7/

In reality, the email shows that Crozier copied it to just seven other people. All of them were Navy captains. A few of them were embarked with the USS Theodore Roosevelt. 8/

The message, of course, reached the media, and was first published by @sfchronicle.

Modly said that Crozier should have called Aquilino or worked out the situation with Baker, not sent a “blast out e-mail to anybody who he knows about the situation.” 9/

That appears to be another exaggeration.

Meanwhile, as cases on the Theodore Roosevelt first appeared, Crozier sent a memo to families that I obtained.

He asked them to be careful in talking to the media – ironic, considering the controversy that erupted days later. 10/

Here's Captain Crozier's memo to families, acknowledging the first few cases of coronavirus on his ship. 11/

washingtonpost.com/context/uss-th…

Certainly, some Navy officers see Crozier’s actions as inappropriate anyway. The commentariat has covered that a length. Other see him as a reluctant hero for throwing up a flare the Navy could not ignore.

Maybe it's not such a binary issue. 12/

The Navy’s top officer, @USNavyCNO, was still reviewing how to handle what has happened as of last night. Dating back a week, he has signaled that Crozier *might* get his job back.

He also could be assigned another carrier, or offered some other path to becoming an admiral. 13/

People around former acting SECNAV Modly, meanwhile, have said his comments aboard the Theodore Roosevelt – where he insulted Crozier and lectured the ship’s crew – were out of character. It resulted in Modly resigning.

Modly, they argue, was a good man in a tough spot. 14/14

For your consideration: @johnfkirby63 @stavridisj @JerryHendrixII @ConsWahoo @DavidLarter @samlagrone

Epilogue for transparency: If you're seeking a closer look at Captain Crozier's email in question, @washingtonpost has now published it here in .pdf format. The one edit we made is to black out the email addresses of the officers involved.

washingtonpost.com/context/captai…