"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
Theodore Roosevelt
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It's not affectionately called 'The Big Stick' for nothing. This is one of America's most power nuclear deterrents. The U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt is possibly armed to the teeth with atomic weapons. It is a vital national asset, projecting power around the globe. Having COVID-19 on board is harmful to America's defense, but the Chinese and the Russians don't need to know about it. Now they do, thanks to this Obama holdover.
Navy Captain Brett E. Crozier broke the rules. He went around his chain of command, leaked information that was vital to U.S. national security, in the hopes that it would lead to the press. He committed treason. He should be rotting in the brig.
The New York Times ramped up their spin machine in the hopes of hurting Trump as always.
"The rousing show of support provided another gripping scene to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic: the rank and file cheering a boss they viewed as putting their safety ahead of his career," wrote the lying Grey Lady.
These idiot journos know nothing of military order and discipline. They know nothing of the challenge a commissioned officer faces, having to sometimes put his men and women in harm's way in order to accomplish the mission.
What if the commander-in-chief believes there is a possibility of an impending military attack from the Chicoms in the South China Sea? What if this virus was a ruse to stage another Pearl Harbor?
What if the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt was on a mission to deter such an attack?
I'm disgusted with our Obama military holdovers and their media enablers, endangering the national security of the country while they try to 'get Trump'.
Unfortunately our military was severely corrupted with culturally Marxist Kool Aid drinkers during the Obama administration. It is going to take a long time to weed them out.
Trump can start by not promoting officers such as this.
Bring back the warriors. They are out there. Promote them. Protect them against the Obama bureaucracy.
Our country needs leaders again.
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Getting a strong military force into the Western Pacific is critical at this juncture in time with China having weathered the Covid-19 epidemic and getting personal protective equipment for their health workers, sometimes resorting to obtaining such equipment from the US and Europe prior to them discovering the severity of the virus.
Now the Chinese are in a position of strength while the US and allies are all struggling to keep afloat with shortages of personal protective equipment, and now stories about Covid-19 on Navy ships such as the Theodore Roosevelt, taking it out of action.
This is a disaster, and hopefully it won't turn into a military disaster.
China has said again and again that they regard Taiwan as a rogue province and that they are within their rights to invade and occupy Taiwan.
Considering that China has a dominant position in the World Health Organization, which touted Chinese propaganda about the Covid-19 epidemic, and China's dominant position in the UN with a permanent place on the Security Council, the only thing holding China back is the possibility that the US would intervene on Taiwan's side if China invades. With the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt taken out of action by her commanding officer, the US is in a very difficult position.
The Democrats would likely be supportive of China if China actually invaded Taiwan, since it would be during Trump's administration.
Was this ship commander in contact with the Chinese, or has he allowed his command to be politicized?
The ship commander should be court-martialed. This isn't settled yet and the ship needs to put to sea as soon as possible.
Apparently he wrote a letter via email, with his concerns and it went public to the news media, rather than talking to his commanding officer who is actually on shipboard.
You can't run the navy when you hear about conditions on shipboard by reading the newspaper rather than getting the information directly from the chain of command.
That is absolutely elementary, and even privates and basic seamen would know that by the first week of basic training.
An undisciplined military is a dangerous and threatening force and there are many, many examples of this going back to antiquity which is why the Founders place the U.S. military under civilian control with a strict chain of command. The chain of command is fundemental to good order. Violate it and a serving soldier or sailor would, and should, be court'-martialed.
Based on the training the USN gave when I served in the early 1970s, and I was only enlisted, there is no way the commanding officer gets off without a court martial. He knew what he was doing was wrong, yet did it regardless. In so doing he essentially notified the world his ship, actually one of America's most powerful, had a weakness. That violation of operational security is absolutely counter to his duty as commanding officer. How in the world did he wind up with that command?
The Theodore Roosevelt is NOT "armed to the teeth with atomic weapons" They are nuclear powered but don't have nuclear weapons.
Why did the Captain break chain of Command? Why stop in Vietnam? Why let his crew go ashore? Something's not right here with the Captain, with the actions above, it clearly shows he had a possible agenda in doing so & that people is the scary part, not knowing what that is and why.
CORRUPTION .
I'm conservative. This is a strange, and error-riddled article. The TR does not carry nuclear weapons. It is nuclear powered. On this fact alone, you lose credibility.
Navy protocol and regulations require an investigation. Nearly every senior Naval officer/admiral has stated that should be the case in this situation. Investigate the facts first, build a case & court martial if the facts warrant it.
Based on preliminary information, Captain Crozier initially followed protocol and chain of command, but was ignored. Moreover, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly (a Trump appointee, was the top guy in the Navy) flew to Guam on taxpayer money, boarded the TR, and proceeded to call Captain Crozier stupid, naïve, inept. Nearly every single military personnel, vet, and even Trump himself deemed this to be a very bad move. Modly's speech on the TR demoralized the entire crew of the TR, gave China and our enemies even more fodder and showed more weakness from higher up. Modly didn't even answer any questions nor did he meet with any sailors on the TR, and in fact, essentially scolded those sailors for having cheered on & supported their former CO. Astounding. Hypocritical. And guess what? Modly has been fired. As he should have been.
The rule of law and Naval protocol is for an investigation to be conducted. Let it be so. I find this article to be irresponsible and poor journalism, and essentially a political/emotional knee-jerk reaction just because Trump was criticized (fairly or unfairly?). It gives us conservatives a bad name and hurts our cause for actual justice, fairness and rule of law.
Former Air Force Helo Guy, since 1991 the U.S. Navy surface fleet no longer has nuclear weapons onboard vessels. You claim to be a National Security expert. Recommend you do more research before writing another article.