Forced apology

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly apologized to crew members of the USS Theodore Roosevelt and its former commander Monday evening over remarks he made earlier in the day calling Capt. Brett Crozier "naive" or "stupid."

"Let me be clear: I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naive or stupid," Modly said in a statement obtained by several media outlets. "I think, and always believed him to be the opposite."

"I believe, precisely because he is not naive or stupid, that he sent his alarming email with the intention of getting it to the public domain in an attempt to draw public attention to the situation on his ship," Modly added.

Modley added, "I apologize for any confusion this choice of words may have caused. I also want to apologize to directly to Captain Crozier, his family, and the entire crew of the Theodore Roosevelt for any pain my remarks may have caused."

[...]

Modly, in a speech also leaked to the media, said Monday that if [Navy Capt. Brett] Crozier didn't didn’t think [his letter to Navy brass about coronavirus crisis on his ship,] would leak, he was “too naive or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this” and that if he leaked the letter himself, he had committed a “serious violation” of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

[...]

"Acting Secretary Modly’s decision to address the sailors on the Roosevelt and personally attack Captain Crozier shows a tone-deaf approach more focused on personal ego than one of the calm, steady leadership we so desperately need in this crisis," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.). "I no longer have confidence in Acting Secretary Modly’s leadership of the Navy and believe he should be removed from his position."

  The Hill

He should be, but he won't be. Trump demanded the removal of Captain Crozier.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, believed that the Navy should have allowed an investigation into the letter written by Crozier to run its course.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper initially sided with the officers, according to The Washington Post.

But Esper eventually yielded to Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who favored immediately dismissing Crozier because he believed that is what President Trump wanted.

  Veterans Today

Without a doubt, he believed that because that's what he was told.

UPDATE:  Resigned.