„This is not an indictment of his entire career,“ Modly said of his decision to relieve Crozier. „He’s had an absolutely incredible career. I’m envious of it. He’s done some amazing things. But at this particular time, I needed a CO there that could help manage us through this crisis, and I just didn’t think — based on those actions — that [he] could do that.“
Rear Admiral Select Carlos Sardiello, the carrier’s former commanding officer, will take over for Crozier and is expected to arrive in soon in Guam, Modly said. The ship berthed there amid its deployment to the Pacific region as the health crisis onboard worsened.
Modly said Tuesday that he had been working to offload sailors from the carrier for several days, but was experiencing difficulty finding available space for them to be quarantined in Guam.
Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. John Aquilino also said he was establishing a „rotational process“ by which the sickened sailors would be quarantined on the island, tested and possibly sent back aboard if deemed healthy.
Modly said Friday that „there have been some amazing strides“ made since the carrier and its 5,000 crew members pulled into Guam last week.
„We really didn’t have a lot of places to put these guys and women,“ he said. „But within a week, we’re up to about 3,700 different places that we’re rolling people off to where they can stay and be in quarantine in some level of comfort while we go through the testing protocols and ensure that we have a crew on the ship that can operate all the things that need to be operated and safeguarded.“
Despite Modly’s optimism and the Navy’s new response efforts, the episode is likely to further damage Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s standing within the administration after the Pentagon has already come under criticism for its handling of coronavirus hot spots within the U.S. military.
Media reports indicate the disease has hit sailors on a second aircraft carrier that is pierside in Japan, the USS Ronald Reagan, as well as dozens of Marine recruits and staff members at the service’s East Coast recruit training center at Parris Island, South Carolina — where additional arrivals have been suspended for the foreseeable future.
The Navy’s boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, took the same preventative measure. But after four Air Force recruits at Joint Base Lackland-San Antonio, Texas, tested positive for the virus in less than a week, the service continued shipping recruits to basic training.
Source: politico.com
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