Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Aircraft Carrier Commander Fired Over His 'Firestorm' Memo That Raised Outbreak Infection Alarms
Reuters: U.S. Navy Relieves Aircraft Carrier Commander Who Wrote Letter Urging Coronavirus Action
The U.S. Navy relieved the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt’s captain of his command on Thursday, punishing him for the leak of a scathing letter he sent to superiors that sought stronger measures for curbing a coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship. The removal of Captain Brett Crozier, first reported by Reuters, was announced by acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who said the senior officer of the nuclear-powered vessel of 5,000 crew members had exercised poor judgment in the way he “broadly” distributed his letter. (Ali and Stewart, 4/2)
CNN: Commander Of Aircraft Carrier Hit By Coronavirus Removed For 'Poor Judgment' After Sounding Alarm
The commander of a US aircraft carrier that has been hit by a major outbreak of coronavirus has been relieved of command for showing "poor judgment" days after writing a memo warning Navy leadership that decisive action was needed to save the lives of the ship's crew, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly announced on Thursday. "Today at my direction the commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Captain Brett Crozier, was relieved of command by carrier strike group commander Rear Admiral Stewart Baker," Modly said during a Pentagon press briefing. Modly told reporters that Crozier was removed for showing "extremely poor judgment" and creating a "firestorm" by too widely disseminating the memo detailing his concerns, copying some 20 to 30 people. (Browne, Cohen and Crawford, 4/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Sailors Start To Leave Coronavirus-Stricken U.S. Aircraft Carrier
Some crew members of a coronavirus-stricken American aircraft carrier have been moved to hotels in the U.S. territory of Guam, where they will be quarantined for 14 days, a military official said Friday. At least 114 of the roughly 5,000 sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The warship has been docked at a Guam port for more than a week, and about a third of its crew has been tested for the virus. (Craymer, 4/3)
