Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly offered his resignation on Tuesday after calling an ousted aircraft carrier captain “stupid” and “naïve.” It was not immediately clear whether Defense Secretary Mark Esper would accept the resignation.
Modly had apologized for the comments earlier on Tuesday.
“I want to apologize to the Navy for my recent comments to the crew of the” USS Theodore Roosevelt, Modly said in a statement. “Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naïve nor stupid. I think, and always believed him to be the opposite.”
Modly flew to Guam on Monday, where he spoke to sailors after the removal of Crozier. Last week, Crozier wrote a letter to superiors that was subsequently leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle, in which he pleaded for help with a coronavirus outbreak on the ship. During his meeting with the sailors on Monday, Modly said Crozier was “stupid” or “naive” for thinking the letter wouldn’t be leaked to the press.
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