WASHINGTON — In what seems like an "about-face," the Navy is reopening its probe into the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and, the ultimate decision on whether Captain Brett Crozier gets his job back.
That announcement came Wednesday from Acting Secretary of the Navy James McPherson. He has directed the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday to take another look at what happened on the Roosevelt.
In a news release on the Navy's web site, McPherson said he has "unanswered questions ... that can only be answered by a deeper review."
House Armed Services Committee member Elaine Luria (D-Virginia, 2nd District) doesn't question the additional investigation.
"I leave it to leadership, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense," she said., "If they need to gather additional information to make an informed decision, I understand that."
Crozier was relieved of duty by former Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly, after a letter Crozier wrote to his chain of command was published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Modly subsequently flew to Guam to berate Crozier, calling him, "stupid." One day later, Modly resigned.
On Wednesday House Armed Service Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Washington) said Captain Crozier should've never been removed in the first place.
"From everything that's come out and everything that I've seen, there was no reason to relieve him of his command," he said.
The TR has been in port in Guam since March 27. As of Monday, there were 955 positive cases of COVID-19 among the ship's crew, and one sailor had died.
According to another Navy release, hundreds of sailors have begun returning the aircraft carrier "as the ship prepares to return to sea."