Crozier, Rickover & 'Crimes of Command'

Review by Bill Doughty–

Rickover in 1922

One hundred years ago, in the midst of the Great Influenza global pandemic, Midshipman Hyman G. Rickover was studying at the Naval Academy. He'd arrived in Annapolis in 1918, but before he could take classes he was quarantined with what was diagnosed as diphtheria. He had to bend the rules to study, but he succeeded, survived the Academy (and the pandemic), and graduated.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt III – TR's grandson – presented a diploma to Rickover (along with more than five hundred classmates) in 1922. 

Rickover changed the culture of the Navy toward higher standards in inspections, safety and training. He championed nuclear propulsion and became the father of the nuclear Navy.

He also helped change Navy's concept of responsibility, according to Michael Junge* in "Crimes of Command: In the United States Navy 1945-2015" (printed in the United States of America, 2018; ISBN 978-1721230068). Ironically, just as Rickover did, Junge stresses the importance of the meaning of words like "responsibility." Junge writes:

"Navy culture has lost the ability to properly separate and distinguish between culpability, accountability, and responsibility. Navy culture no longer fully understands ethics and ethical dilemmas. Navy culture now sees administration and bureaucratization as professionalism. These issues are interrelated, but all lead to one inescapable conclusion – Navy culture must change. Navy culture must rediscover the core of its language. It must understand the truth behind the myth and rhetoric of command if it is to continue into the future and remain relevant. Making these changes will come from those who have both experience and education, practice and theory – from those who can properly perceive a situation, have the appropriate feelings about it, can properly deliberate about what was appropriate in those circumstances, and to act."

Junge says, "When combined with lax language, the Navy is rife for a culture of 'ready, fire, aim' responses to crimes of command." He explores the "ethics of military virtue," referring to works from psychologists, sociologists, philosophers and others, including Richard D. White, Ruth Benedict, Peter E. Langford, Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg and Samuel Huntington.

Quoting authors Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe, he writes, "An ethical dilemma arises when two or more competing values are important and in conflict.'" Although some leaders in the military place the highest value in obedience and blind loyalty to the chain of command, what is a commander to do when faced with "loyalty to a superior or to the crew"?

"Ethics is about 'figuring out the right way to do the right thing in a particular circumstance, with a particular person, at a particular time.'"

CAPT Crozier, 'GOAT'

Skipper Crozier aboard TR, March 3, 2020. (MCSN Kaylianna Genier).

Captain Brett Crozier, until several days ago the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), faced a moral and ethical dilemma when a relatively small but growing number of his nearly 5,000 crew tested positive for the coronavirus, and he asked for help from his chain of command to save lives. [Just a reminder that Navy Reads is an unofficial blog, and unquoted comments here are my own.]

On March 30, Crozier wrote a three-and-a-half page letter – not five pages as claimed by his commander in chief, President Trump, who mocked the letter as a work of "literature" April 4 during a nationally televised press conference. “I thought it was terrible what he did, to write a letter. This isn’t a class on literature," Trump told reporters.

Crozier asked clearly for "decisive action" after days of attempting to get help in protecting his Sailors as the spread of the virus accelerated. His letter got immediate action but also resulted in the acting Secretary of the Navy firing him and removing him from his ship. Acting Navy Secretary Modly fired him for allegedly causing a "firestorm" when the request for help was published.

At Saturday's COVID-19 press conference, Trump questioned the wisdom of doing a visit to Vietnam March 5. "I guess the captain stopped in Vietnam and people got off in Vietnam,” Trump said. “Perhaps you don’t do that in the middle of a pandemic or something that looked like it was going to be. History would say you don’t necessarily stop and let your sailors get off.”

Modly and Trump at Naval Academy graduation, May 25, 2018. (CPL H. Clay)

At the same time that the TR was in Vietnam, back in the United States Trump participated in an extended phone interview on Fox News March 4, in which he said about coronavirus, "I started hearing about it very quietly a couple of months ago from China and I said, 'Wow, I hope that doesn't happen here.'"

He told host Sean Hannity: "I just say it's a very very small number in our country," and "A lot of things have happened that have been very fortunate. We are doing a good job."

Downplaying the severity of the virus, Trump said on March 4, "Now, and this is just my hunch, and – but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this. Because a lot people will have this and it's very mild. They'll get better very rapidly. They don't even see a doctor. They don't even call a doctor," Trump said. "You never hear about those people. So you can't put them down in the category of the overall population in terms of this corona flu and or virus. So you just can't do that," he continued. "So if, you know, we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better, just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work – some of them go to work but they get better."

Media in Vietnam meet dignitaries, including Ambassador Kritenbrink and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Adm. Aquilino, at the arrival of  USS Theodore Roosevelt’s (CVN 71) and the USS Bunker Hill’s (CG 52) arrival in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 5, 2020. (Photo by MC3 Brandon Richardson)

Meanwhile, in Vietnam at that same time, Sailors were encouraged by their chain of command to participate in cultural and professional exchanges, community service projects, sports competitions, and receptions during the port visit, including at the invitation of Trump-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink who met with senior Navy officers and various media during the visit.

Who is to "blame" for TR visiting Vietnam? Who is responsible for not responding immediately to CAPT Crozier's desperate pleas for help for his crew as his Sailors became sick? Was Crozier punished for speaking truth to power?

Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), sits inside the cockpit of an F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the “Blue Diamonds” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146, Nov. 13, 2019, aboard Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).  (MC3 Nicholas Huynh)

Skipper Crozier's bio and web presence show a stellar, accomplished and gifted naval aviator and leader of leaders – a graduate of the Naval Academy, trained in nuclear power, with an advanced degree from the Naval War College. He served in Hawaii; in CONUS; in Naples, Italy with NATO; and in Iwakuni and Yokosuka, Japan. While aboard USS Nimitz he supported Operation Iraqi Freedom. And he served as the Executive Officer of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) till July 2016. During that tour USS Reagan took part in RIMPAC 2014 and came to Yokosuka to relieve USS George Washington (CVN 73). Crozier then served as commanding officer aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), flagship of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, before becoming TR's CO November 1, 2019.

His Sailors call him GOAT: Greatest Of All Time. They cheered him as he departed his ship.

In late-breaking news, it is reported today that Crozier himself has tested positive for the COVID virus.

What's the Real Crime

Junge (again, not intended to be referring to Crozier) wrote this about Navy's tendency to figuratively eat its own:

"The Navy must remember that commanders, competent commanders, are in short supply. The rarity of command in itself means that every commander has valuable, and rare, experience. By removing and discarding virtually all commanders who commit crimes of command the Navy wastes precious resources. Chester Nimitz's and William Raborn's contributions testify to the potential value lost when the Navy sent Kirk Lippold [USS Cole (DDG 67) CO], Glenn Brindel [USS Stark (FFG 31)], Walter Shafer [USS Belknap (CG 26) CO], and over a hundred other commanders home over the last three decades rather than afford them an opportunity at redemption."

He says the Navy now favors "retribution and removal" over "remorse and rehabilitation." And he asks, "Are officers who protect the Navy from airing dirty laundry loyal to the institution, or disloyal to the country?" 

As a reminder, the nation's first whistleblowers were Sailors.

In the U.S. Naval War College Review ("Leadership and Decision—From Accountability to Punishment," Naval War College Review: Spring 2020; Vol. 73: No. 2, Article 5) Junge graphs and compares the "number of officers forgiven or allowed rehabilitation." It's clear that CO removals are way up in recent years.



He writes, “In the modern Navy, a commander is most likely to be removed for personal misconduct or when the crime of command includes one or all of the following elements: death, press coverage, or significant damage to the Navy, whether materially or to its reputation.”

Junge notes, "Because commanders are now judged via an administrative process during which they enjoy fewer rights than they would in a judicial process, removal for personal misconduct is lumped in with operational incidents."

Junge's book was written well before the current pandemic, obviously. He mentions personal individual actions such as infidelity and alcohol incidents. But the book focuses primarily on "crimes" such as shipboard accidents and ship and submarine collisions, allisions and groundings. We read about accidents by Bainbridge and Barry from the Navy's early history and see how they were forgiven and fondly remembered. Mullen and Nimitz similarly rose from what could be called career-ending incidents during a more forgiving time.

Junge reminds us of the fate of USS Indianapolis (CA 35) and its captain, Charles B. McVay, III, who was pilloried for not zigzagging his ship in order to avoid enemy torpedoes. And we learn about USS Hobson (DMS 26), cut in half by USS Wasp (CV 18) in 1952, with 176 Sailors killed, including the captain. Junge provides examples of significant incidents, including among others, those involving USS McFaul (DDG 74) and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) in 2008, USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) in 2013, and separate collisions involving USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) in 2017.

Junge sees a change in naval culture in 1965-1985, a period where "individual responsibility was replaced with an idea of culpability for the CO, for simply being in command."

He notes that Rickover's shadow was long. Five of the previous eleven Chiefs of Naval Operations being officers who Rickover had interviewed and in some cases personally mentored.

Such was the case for CNOs Adm. James L. Holloway III and especially Adm. James D. Watkins, who, with Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, codified the "first open and official linkage of authority, responsibility, and accountability and their indivisible nature."

"Watkins also took Rickover's ideas outside the Navy," Junge writes. "After retiring as CNO, Watkins remained active in government, first as chairman of the Reagan commission on the HIV epidemic, then as Secretary of Energy for President George H.W. Bush." 

Watkins, echoing Rickover, once wrote, "The doctrine of accountability has always been a part of command and a very active part of that doctrine is that you cannot delegate responsibility and authority to another." The man at the top, according to that view, should be responsible, accountable and culpable.

Core Values, Including ...

Junge offers a nuanced perspective to ethical military virtue. He says "the Navy must return to a time when a commander can commit a crime of command, be judged and afforded an opportunity to seek and receive forgiveness; an opportunity for redemption." 

In fact, he suggests another core value for the Navy along with honor, courage and commitment: forgiveness. And he bases his suggestion in part on theology, citing Jesus Christ, and also in science, showing research in ethics and morality.

For example, Kohlberg identified three levels of moral development, each with two stages. "At the lowest level, individuals are self-centered and amoral, focused on not being caught and punished," Junge writes.

"Most military personnel fit within Level II, Stages 3 or 4. Rules are clear cut, group approval is desired, and authority is respected," Junge says. If a person has more fully evolved, he or she can achieve a level of enlightened moral development. "Stage 5 accepts legal authority, but also seeks to change unjust laws. Stage 5 is the core basis or ideals of American morality."

"While Rickover created Level II organizations, he did not operate at that level." Because he had been quarantined he was behind in his studies at Annapolis. "When he returned to class he was behind, and in order to catch up Rickover violated academy rules to study after taps." Far from being a two-dimensional caricature, Rickover was complicated; he even knew how to forgive others, as Junge shows.

Junge's book, available on Kindle at Amazon, is rich in history, psychology and critical thinking. Readers are asked to consider the true meanings of responsibility, accountability and culpability. Junge introduces readers to a rich resource of authors and books, and he reminds us of the words of Adm. Arleigh Burke: "A commander who fails to exceed his authority is not much use to his subordinates."

As this blog goes online, CAPT Crozier faces possible disciplinary action in an apparent expedited investigation. But his Sailors aboard TR are more protected and are now receiving COVID-19 tests.

(*Michael Junge is an active duty Navy Captain with degrees from the United States Naval Academy, United States Naval War College, the George Washington University, and Salve Regina University.  He served afloat in USS Moosbrugger (DD 980), USS Underwood (FFG 36), USS Wasp (LHD 1), USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) and was the 14th Commanding Officer of USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41). Ashore he served with Navy Recruiting; Assault Craft Unit 4; as Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, Headquarters, Marine Corps; as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Communication Networks (N6); and with the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a military professor at the U.S. Naval War College.)

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Michael Lusk, from Baltimore, takes a swab sample for COVID-19 testing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), April 1, 2020.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dartañon D. De La Garza/Released)

Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 and NMCB 5 coordinate transportation of Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) who have tested negative for COVID-19 and are asymptomatic from Naval Base Guam to Government of Guam and military-approved commercial lodging. Sailors will be required to remain in quarantine in their assigned lodging for at least 14 days, in accordance with DoD directive and the Governor’s executive order. The vehicles departed the pier and picked up Theodore Roosevelt Sailors who had previously been isolated from the ship at locations on board Naval Base Guam. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Matthew R. White/Released)

Capt. Brett Crozier’s Book: Scary Good

Review by Bill Doughty––

It’s almost frightening how good and relevant this book is.

“Surf When You Can: Lessons in Life, Loyalty, and Leadership from a Maverick Navy Captain” by Captain Brett Crozier with Michael Vlessides (Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, 2023).

This book about lessons of leadership would make a great gift for anyone who loves the Navy and the sea. Here’s an excerpt to show why.

“If my wife, Mary, is my one true love, then the ocean is my mistress. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with its power, its beauty, and its possibilities.

As a Navy captain, I had the privilege of experiencing the ocean in all her moods. At times it was so calm we could carve slow circles in the water with the carrier and eventually catch up with the white and blue mosaic of the ship’s wake before it faded into the depths below. At other times, the sea was an unforgiving bedfellow, with waves so massive they crashed over the flight deck, sixty feet above the surface. (In some cases, fighter jets have actually been damaged by water crashing over the flight deck.)

Yet no matter what the sea threw at me over the course of those thirty years, I never stopped appreciating the perspective she offered: from my place on the bridge, with the horizon stretching forever before me, I realized just how small I was in the world.

The excerpt is reminiscent of some of the works of Adm. James Stavridis (ret.), who speaks about Crozier in one of his own books. Also like some of our favorites such as Stavridis and Adm. William McRaven (ret.), Crozier offers terrific life lessons and superb leadership advice.

Stavridis blurbs: “Surf When You Can” is utterly compelling, authentic, and relatable –– simply superb advice in life and leadership!” Here on Navy Reads we have featured several posts related to Crozier and the challenges he faced.

Saluting TR's new CO Capt. Crozier, Nov. 1, 2019. (MC3 Sean Lynch)

Crozier, who was inspired to attend the U.S. Naval Academy after watching the original Top Gun movie, reflects on lessons learned as a junior officer, a helicopter pilot, a jet pilot, the executive officer of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the commanding officer of USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) and the CO of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). He became CO of TR exactly four years ago from tomorrow, Nov. 1, 2019.

What shines through in this book are the sometimes eye-watering sea stories that help Crozier make his points about what it takes to be a good leader and, in fact, a good person of character.

Unintentionally relevant to what’s happening now between Netanyahu’s Israel Defense Force and Islamist Hamas in Gaza, Crozier shares a story about going out of his way to prevent civilian casualties while flying his jet in combat over Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Using creative and flexible tactics, he and his wingman came to the aid of Marines while preventing collateral damage to innocent people who had no where else to go.

In “Surf,” Crozier teaches about humility, being willing to apologize, and the need to praise in public and reprimand in private. One key story is about his role as XO aboard USS Ronald Reagan, showing the importance of empathy and kindness in a recounting of a “pot-positive” captain’s mast. He tells humane stories about authorizing Sailor parents to attend their sons’ and daughters’ high school graduation in Yokosuka, Japan, ensuring his ship’s softball teams received the support they needed, and supporting a junior Sailor who took the initiative of immediately reporting what he thought was a “man overboard.”

Far from being angry because a young Sailor took initiative to do the right thing, Crozier showed compassion and appreciation for the young man’s courage to stand up and speak out. In another sea story he shows how a wingman’s failure to inform him of something he observed almost cost Crozier his life. Though angry over the incident, Crozier framed it as a teaching moment and one he kept for the rest of his career: If a thing is “not quite right,” see something, say something. His creative way of making this point, learning about “NKR,” is worth a read.

Capt. Brett Crozier, then-CO of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), addresses the crew at an all hands call in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (MCSN Kaylianna Genier)

But his key leadership point is this: Take care of your Sailors and they will take care of the rest.

I started this book at the last few chapters (before reading and re-reading from the beginning) because I wanted Crozier’s take on what happened to him: being fired at the direction of then-President Trump, Secretary of Defense Esper, and acting Secretary of the Navy Modly for actions Crozier took to minimize the spread of Covid aboard his ship. Trump even ridiculed Crozier in public.

At the time, during the early days of the pandemic, the Trump administration did not take the outbreak seriously and was offended when a Navy captain in the forward-deployed naval forces did. The vindictive response that followed was and is a warning.

When Captain Crozier saw something not quite right and spoke out to get help for his Sailors, he was removed from his position and ultimately forced to retire. What a tragedy. What a loss.

Not surprisingly, Crozier does not hold a grudge against the Navy he loves. He expresses no animosity to the feckless chain of command that facilitated his removal and then failed to reinstate him.

Here are just a few of the thoughts of this good and great leader:

• “Rank isn’t as important as being true to yourself and the people you’ve sworn to take care of.”
• “Perfection is an elusive goal, and part of being a good leader is recognizing your mistakes and owning them.”
• “I have always operated on the fundamental belief that most people want to do good in the world.”
• “We are stronger when we pull together.”
• “I think we’re better people when we open our hearts and minds to others.
• “If you’re willing to take a risk and operate outside your comfort zone, you’re going to learn and grow … (and) achieve things you may not have imagined possible.”

There are many more words of wisdom and inspiration.

For Crozier, it’s most important for himself and his Sailors to find balance in life: Job, family, and self. It’s no accident that “Surf When You Can” is the title of the book.  He says people can and should take time for themselves to recharge, whether it be through sports, gardening, or reading!

I found special resonance in this book. My kids also attended school in Yokosuka. I was a military brat, as were Crozier’s kids and his resilient wife, Mary. 

I see how much Crozier valued PAOs (public affairs officers) –– and vice versa. He obviously respected the role of a free media, of Navy mass communication specialists, and of the lasting impact of photo ops. The same can be said of books. Books such as “Surf When You Can.”

There is also a personal connection for me in how Crozier talked about his time in Hawaii (my chosen home) earlier in his career. From his connection with Barber’s Point, Russ “Rusty” Keaulana, and surfing at White Plains Beach he learned about pono, the Hawaiian concept of righteousness, kindness, and respect for others.

Crozier praises Sailors. Big time. He respects petty officers and chief petty officers as well as junior enlisted and junior officer personnel. The three most important values as a Navy leader, which he learned from a Navy chief in Hawaii are: Take care of your Sailors. Take care of your Sailors. Take care of your Sailors.

That’s what Capt. Brett Crozier did.

Fearlessly.

According to the book, a portion of the profits from "Surf When You Can" will go to "nonprofit organizations focused on supporting our nation's service members and veterans. To learn more about these and several other outstanding charitable organizations please visit www.surfwhenyoucan.com."

Escape in Avoiding WWIII

Review by Bill Doughty

Armed missiles incoming. Artificial Intelligence at the controls. USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the target. A hit…

Punk’s Force, a novel by Ward Carroll and Tony Peak (Naval Institute Press, 2025) hits hard from the very start and builds to a nail-biting climax. This book will especially appeal to tail-hook warfighters and the military’s test-and-evaluation community.

But, in the tradition of Tom Clancy and Stephen Coontz, Punk’s Force is also accessible and rewarding to civilian readers, especially anyone interested in international espionage and contemporary issues facing the United States in general and U.S. Navy in particular. It’s a jolt of a thrill ride.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (Ret.), agrees:

“Punk’s Force is a tour de force of international intrigue and edge-of-your-seat flying action,” says Mullen. “It also accurately captures the high-stakes challenges facing the U.S. Navy today. I couldn’t put it down.”

Among the novel’s topical issues and themes: drones, hypersonic missiles and counter technology, cryptocurrency, and use of kompromat to corrupt leaders.

Some key lines that stick:

• Avoid “the cardinal sin of underestimating rivals,”
• AI abuse means “Dr. Frankenstein has lost control of his monsters,” and 
• Bad guys profit even though “war, climate change, and injustice would destroy the planet if allowed to continue unchecked.”

The authors present believable characters with complicated psychological challenges and 3D family dynamics. Readers will enjoy the fun call signs, strong women characters, and realistic portrayal of life aboard an aircraft carrier: “That smell –– a combination of fuels, metal, and humanity.” Smells evoke other senses for any reader who has been aboard a CV or CVN –– the sounds of heavy metal punctuated by the 1MC; the sight of clean bulkheads and dirty hands; the feel of ladder rails and non-skid surfaces.

Realistic rivalries are also themes, including Navy vs. Air Force and brown shoe officers (aviators) vs. black show officers (surface warriors). Pecking orders within the military and between individual services are not only rank-based.

But true leadership is shown when there is universal respect and selfless support. The admiral participates in a FOD (foreign object debris) walk-down on the flight deck; he dines with junior enlisted Sailors and Chief Petty Officers; and he volunteers as a patient in a medevac drill.

The authors work in a reference to “the COVID Cruise” with details (but no names mentioned) of the heroic self-sacrifice of Capt. Brett Crozier, CO of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), and how he took care of his Sailors in the early weeks of the pandemic. Such leadership is heralded in the writings of Stavridis, McRaven, and McChrystal.

Character counts in large amounts.

Ultimately, this book is a yin-yang of good vs. evil, service vs. greed, and devotion vs. betrayal. All the while, it builds with action and intrigue in a shadow of avoiding WWIII and the sinking of America’s lynchpin aircraft carrier. This is a good summer read and a proper escape from current chaos.

A blurb by former Director of Air Warfare Rear Adm. Mike “Nasty” Manzanir, USN (Ret.) reads, “From the throat-catching first chapter through the twists and turns, loops and breaks you’ve become used to flying with Punk, Punk’s Force is a constant full-grunt catsuit. Whether you’ve read all the books in the series or just pick this one up for your flight, you won’t put it down.”

In the authors' Acknowledgements, Ward Carroll, creator of the Punk series, thanks his wingman, Tony Peak, a gifted science fiction writer. Peak, in turn, thanks both Carroll and USNI: The Naval Institute's pedigree is impeccable, and I feel privileged to become a part of it."

Top photo: Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Aircraft Handling) 1st Class Sam Smith, assigned to air department aboard the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), directs an E/A-18G Growler, attached to the "Grey Wolves" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142, on the flight deck, April 14, 2025. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (Photo by MC3 Tajh Payne)

Second photo: An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the "Tomcatters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, launches from the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), April 14, 2025. (Photo by MC2 Maxwell Orlosky)

Stavridis on Crucial Crucible of Decision

Review by Bill Doughty––

Admiral James Stavridis (USN, Ret.) offers key lessons for Sailors and Marines in “To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision” (Penguin Press, 2022). Most of the stories will be familiar to readers of Stavridis or his recommended reading list, but one story –– recent and still painful –– is presented with a personal and unique perspective only Stavridis could achieve.

“The Red Flare” describes the crucible faced by Navy Capt. Brett Crozier, former CO of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Crozier was fired for the way he responded to an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard TR in the early months of the pandemic. At that time there were more questions than answers, and self-serving politics delayed a proper national response. (We cover Crozier’s challenge and legacy in several previous Navy Reads posts.)

Stavridis begins The Red Flare by recounting his relationship with Crozier in the final days of Libyan intervention during Operation Odyssey Dawn in 2011 and subsequently as part of the NATO joint task force for Operation Unified Protector when Stavridis became Supreme Allied Commander. Crozier was considered “a talented and quite extraordinary officer.”

Crozier’s job was target selector or “targeteer,” responsible for carefully deciding how to maximize effectiveness while minimizing collateral damage and death to local citizens when planning precision-guided-air-to-ground strikes. Crozier’s decision-making during the Libya conflict was done in a pressure-cooker cauldron of international media and chain-of-command scrutiny, according to Stavridis:

“In the end, Crozier and his team planned and executed 218 air taking orders (ATOs), mammoth action orders that plan out the complex movements of aircraft in combat zones. NATO aircraft flew over 26,500 flights, including 9,700 that attacked ground targets and destroyed over 5,900 military assets, all while deconflicting operations with over 6,700 humanitarian aid flights and ground movements. And they did all this with the lowest level of collateral damage in the history of air operations. It was a stunningly successful military campaign, and Crozier’s part in it was rewarded with two significant medals: one from NATO and one from the United States. I thought then that he’d surely go on to an admiral’s stars, and over the next several years I watched his steady progress toward that goal…”

Then-Adm. James Stavridis tours NHHC, Dec. 7, 2012. (MC2 G. Morrisette)

After commanding the U.S. Seventh Fleet’s flagship, USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19), Crozier took the helm of the mighty TR.* During a WestPac cruise, which included a visit to Vietnam, a few members of the crew contracted COVID, and as can be expected on any ship, it spread fast. Crozier tried to get authorization to offload sick and infected Sailors while maintaining enough crew to remain combat-ready.

Frustrated by a lack of action and assistance from higher-ups, he sent a “red flare” message for help. The trouble was, in error, he sent the message as an unclassified email, and he did not include a key leader in his chain of command.

Crozier wrote, “We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset –– our Sailors!”

The email found its way to the media, and the crisis aboard TR became a national news story and an embarrassment to an administration that failed to take the pandemic seriously at the time.

Stavridis evaluates Crozier’s decision-making and takes the readers to the moment that the Skipper held his finger over the “send” button before he launched the thoroughly reasoned and carefully worded email that would end his career and lead to a dissing from President Trump, who called him “Hemingway.”

Stavridis looks at the context of the events, considers the stellar record of Crozier, and makes a case for understanding the “important point” that communication is key –– and never more complicated than in the internet era.

“It is also important to remember that so often the hard choice you make is something you have to live with from that moment forward. Had Crozier been so focused on his Navy career instead of the health of his crew, he likely would have continued to go along with the shifting guidance without raising any additional complications or hesitations. Had he done that, I suspect he would have never been fired by the acting secretary of the Navy, never been investigated for the events that led up tot he outbreak, and likely would have continued with his Navy career and pinned on admiral’s stars as I’d envisioned back in 2011.”

Today, we can see clear examples of others who focus first on perpetuating their positions of power. They put their own interests ahead of country, Constitution, or the people they represent.

The sad fact is that Crozier was removed from command and, despite efforts by some senior naval officers to reinstate him in command, he was ultimately relieved for cause.

“In my view, the Navy had it right by recommending his reinstatement, and I believe some level of political pressure was exerted from the White House,” Stavridis observes.

Then-Capt. Brett E. Crozier, then-commanding officer of the U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), welcomes members of the Japan Self-Defense Force Joint Staff College for a tour aboard the ship, Sept. 18, 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adam K. Thomas/Released)

“I believe this case study will be examined by generations of naval officers going forward, and with good reason. It perfectly outlines for the Navy the principles of caring for the crew and the difficulty of balancing with getting the mission done.”

“People versus mission is an age-old dilemma for sea captains,” Stavridis writes.

His book explores weighty decisions made by Capt. John Paul Jones, Lt. Stephen Decatur, Rear Adm. David Farragut, Commodore George Dewey, Cook Third Class Doris “Dorie” Miller, Adm. William “Bull” Halsey, Lt. Cdr. Lloyd M. Bucher, Rear Adm. Michelle Howard, and Capt. Crozier. There’s a bonus story right at the outset, too; Stavridis’s introduction leads with the story of Cdr. Ernest Evans, CO of the USS Johnston (DD-557), and his heroism in the Battle off Samar, 78 years ago on October 25, 1944.

Each story methodically evaluates the circumstances, personnel, and ramifications of decisions made in moments of often extreme stress, with lives on the line, and when there appears to be no perfect response.

Stavridis writes with his usual panache and passion. His book is accessible to any deckplate Sailor or rifleman Marine, who will be inspired by the courage and grit of Dorie Miller at Pearl Harbor. This book is also written for leaders of leaders –– military or civilian –– who want to understand the decision-making process, even when there is “no way out,” as was the case with Lloyd M. Bucher, skipper of USS Pueblo (AGER-2) after his ship was seized by North Korea on January 23, 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War.

The final chapter “To Risk It All” deploys practical advice for leaders who face hard decisions in their life’s voyage. Personally, I love Stavridis’s mention of a personal favorite book I read in high school, Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather,” which Stavridis calls “one of the greatest books ever written about leadership and decision-making…”

Thank you, Admiral, for another great collection of terrific stories, unexpected book suggestions, and indispensable insights, especially your take on a hero for Sailors, whose sacrifice will be even more understood and appreciated in years to come –– Capt. Brett Crozier.

*Top photo: Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), and Capt. Carlos Sardiello cut a cake in the ship’s hangar bay during a change of command ceremony reception. Crozier relieved Sardiello to become the 16th commanding officer of TR. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Olympia O. McCoy)