Business Insider reports in what is not a surprise that morale has declined among the US Navy after a Commander was fired for whistleblowing about the spread of COVID-19 on his ship.
US Navy Vice Adm. Bill Merz, the commander of the United States’ largest forward-deployed fleet, visited the aircraft carrier reeling from a coronavirus outbreak and admitted the morale for some of its crew was negatively impacted by recent events.
“There was lots of anxiety about the virus,” Merz told CNN. “As you can imagine the morale covers the spectrum, considering what they have been through.”
The nuclear-powered USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is currently stationed in Guam, has been beset with a range of recent problems — including the firing of its commander, Capt. Brett Crozier.
On April 2, Crozier was relieved of command by the then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly after he emailed a four-page letter to over 20 people, warning about the coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship. The letter was eventually leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle, which published its contents. (source)
It is obvious that morale would decline in such a situation.
The purpose of a Commander is to look out for the welfare of his troops under his command first. If he cannot care for them, they cannot be expected to be effective in a war situation, which is their purpose.
This Commander was fired for doing both and ethically and morally the right thing. Covering up the spread of a disease pandemic on his ship that has shut down already more than half of the world, regardless of what one thinks about COVID-19, is always the right thing to do because it is a way of trying to stop something that is not good.
That he was fired for doing this is proof, as I have said, of how the US military truly views her soldiers under her command. While it is not true at the command levels (as is evidenced by the good and righteous actions of this commander), the highest ranks view soldiers as pawns of war that can be disposed of without any regard to who they are or their good will.
If soldiers cannot have good faith in the system they pledged themselves to defend, for the US does not have a compulsory draft, how can she expect soldiers to want to fight for her, or to have confidence in her?