Trying to keep up with all the damage being done by the Trump administration is an impossible task, but am thankful for the reporting of Helene Cooper et al. in the New York Times for this appalling and demoralizing example of Trumpist bullying deployed against men and women in uniform:
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| Captain Brett Crozier |
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s acting Navy secretary, in a profanity-laced reprimand delivered Monday, criticized sailors aboard the stricken aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt for cheering their captain, who was removed after he appealed for help as coronavirus spread throughout the warship.
The Navy’s top civilian, Thomas B. Modly, delivered his message over the ship’s loudspeaker system and deepened the raw us-versus-them atmosphere that had already engulfed the carrier. It also exposed the schism between a commander in chief with little regard for the military’s chain of command and the uniformed Navy that is sworn to follow him.
Like much in the Trump administration, what began as a seemingly straightforward challenge — the arrival of coronavirus onboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier — has now engulfed the military, leading to far-reaching questions of undue command influence and the demoralization of young men and women who promise to protect the country. At its heart, the crisis aboard the Theodore Roosevelt has become a window into what matters, and what does not, in an administration where remaining on the right side of a mercurial president is valued above all else.
The crew of the Roosevelt had already registered its discontent with the Trump administration’s decision to remove the commander, by cheering for Capt. Brett E. Crozier as he walked down the gangway last week and left the ship....
The French nuclear powered carrier Charles de Gaulle and its frigate Chevalier Paul had more than 1,000 of the crews test Covid19 positive after their April14-17 liberty in Brest (Atlantic port). They had earlier stopped in Cyprus. Many have symptoms and some are in hospital. The ships are now docked at their home port in Toulon (Mediterranean coast) while they are being disinfected. France seems to have handled this mishap with far less fuss than the USA has the Theodore Roosevelt carrier infection. That reflects badly on military appointments by the Trump regime. Red Hornet
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