The COVID-19 Pandemic is affecting our troops and the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is in immediate need of decisive action to stop the spread of the virus among the crew.

Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer of the ship, pleaded in a letter to quarantine the bulk of the ship, saying that it would be impossible to stop the spread otherwise. "Sailors do not need to die,” Crozier wrote in the letter. “If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors.”

We need to COMMEND Capt. Crozier for speaking truth to power and understanding that without ready, capable sailors, there is no mission! Mark Esper, the Secretary of Defense, ignored the plea for help and said "the ship will remain fully operational." Esper expects the crew to continue the operational tempo while cycling sailors in-and-out of a 14 day quarantine in Guam hotels. This is not what is being prescribed to do by medical experts.

The reality is that there is no war or battle being fought right now that justifies gambling with our service members lives like this. The powers that be simply want to be able to stand in front of a microphone and ramble superlatives and empty cliches like "We must always be ready to fight" and "We are the most powerful Navy in the world." etc. etc. etc.

WE NEED TO STOP THE AMERICAN MACHO RHETORIC AND TAKE CARE OF OUR SERVICE MEMBERS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

This virus is a global problem and it is going to take ALL HANDS to stop the spread. It is not "weakness" to be smart and pragmatic and take care of our sailors so that they can live to fight another day. The military leaders are acting as if the Russians are storming the beaches of Los Angeles. Everyone in the world is dealing with this pandemic and the Navy should take this opportunity to hit the "reset button," catch up on other maintenance and missions, and most importantly, quit putting the sailors of the USS Roosevelt into harms way unnecessarily. 

Let's send a strong message to the Secretary of Defense and Congress to:

-Protect and Commend Capt. Crozier for having the courage to write his letter and stand up for his crew

-Pump the brakes on the Navy's current operational tempo to take care of the greatest asset we have: the sailors!

-Quarantine the sailors of the USS Roosevelt in accordance with the commanding officers timeline and recommendations

This is not a "global ceasefire" and this is not a way to make our troops more vulnerable. It is the opposite. By putting them in harm's way without a justifiable reason, we are slowly poisoning the sailors physically, emotionally, and psychologically. They and their families need to know that leadership can be trusted.

There will be a day when the mission needs our troops to go into harm's way to keep the American people safe, but for now, they need to get out of the way in order to keep Americans - and the rest of the world - safe.