"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 captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Capt. Brett Crozier, wrote a letter to the United States Navy explaining the situation on board his vessel and asking for assistance lest Sailors die as a result of the spreading virus.
"If required the USS Theodore Roosevelt would embark all assigned Sailors, set sail, and be ready to fight and beat any adversary that dares challenge the US or our allies," the letter reads. "However, we are not at war, and therefore cannot allow a single Sailor to perish as a result of this pandemic unnecessarily."
"Decisive action" is required, Crozier continues, to comply with official virus prevention guidance and "prevent tragic outcomes."
Coronavirus sends deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt to port, all crew members to be tested
The USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived at port in Guam last Thursday to test all 5,000 crewmembers aboard for COVID-19 after at least 23 positive cases were identified.
"We found several more cases...We are in the process of testing 100 percent of the crew of that ship," said acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly at a Pentagon press briefing on Thursday. "The ship is operationally capable if called upon to do so...but we are pulling the ship into Guam. Nobody from the ship will be allowed to leave the ship other than on the pier."
According to Modly, the USS Theodore Roosevelt has 800 test kits on board — not enough to test the 5,000-member crew.
"We're flying more on there today as we speak," Modly added.
"Our medical team aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt is performing testing for the crew consistent with CDC guidelines, and we are working to increase the rate of testing as much as possible," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said in a statement. "Immediate priority will be symptomatic sailors, those in close contact with sailors who have tested positive already, and essential watch standers. We are isolating those who test positive."
As of Monday, official statements from the Department of Defenses confirmed that 40 sailors on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt had tested positive for the virus. But a senior Navy official told the San Fransisco Chronicle — the media outlet that originally obtained the letter — that as many as 200 sailors on board have tested positive.
"The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating," Crozier's letter reads.
The letter — four pages in length — explains that on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt, quarantine measures are not working, testing is not working, the current strategy is not working
Crozier's new proposed strategy involves removing all crew members from the ship and isolating them for two weeks while the ship is cleaned and guaranteed to be virus-free.
"Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary measure," Crozier writes. "Keeping over 4,000 young men and women on board the TR is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those Sailors entrusted to our care."
Crozier closes his letter asking for all available resources as soon as possible.
"I don't think we're at that point," Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told CNN Tuesday night when asked if it was time to evacuate the USS Theodore Roosevelt. "We're moving a lot of supplies and medical assistance out to the carrier in Guam. We're providing additional medical personnel as they need it. I am pleased to report that none of them are seriously ill."
—
Want to get more connected to the stories and resources Connecting Vets has to offer? Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
