Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Helene Cooper,
The New York Times Company
March 31, 2020 | 1:21 PM
WASHINGTON — The captain of a U.S. aircraft carrier deployed to the Pacific Ocean has pleaded with the Pentagon for more help as a coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship continues to spread, officials said Tuesday. Military officials said dozens of sailors have been infected.
In a four-page letter, first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday, Capt. Brett E. Crozier of the USS Theodore Roosevelt laid out the dire situation unfolding aboard the warship, with more than 4,000 crew members, and what he said were the Navy’s failures to provide him with the proper resources to combat the virus by moving sailors off the vessel.
“We are not at war,” Crozier wrote. “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 carrier is currently docked in Guam.
The crisis aboard the Roosevelt played out like a slow-moving disaster and highlights the dangers to the Pentagon if the coronavirus manages to infiltrate some its most important assets, such as bomber fleets, elite Special Operations units and the talisman of U.S. military power, aircraft carriers.
In a statement, a Navy official said that the commanding officer of the Roosevelt “alerted leadership in the Pacific Fleet on Sunday evening of continuing challenges in isolating the virus.”
“The ship’s commanding officer advocated for housing more members of the crew in facilities that allow for better isolation,” the statement said. “Navy leadership is moving quickly to take all necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt, and is pursuing options to address the concerns raised by the commanding officer.”
A senior Navy official on Sunday sought to play down the urgency of the situation on the Roosevelt, saying that while it was unfortunate, most of the reported symptoms at that point among the sickened sailors and other crew members had been mild.
Port calls for U.S. Navy ships have been canceled.
Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, the vice director of operations with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted that the Roosevelt can perform its missions. If the Roosevelt had to sail immediately, Taliaferro told reporters on a conference call, it was “ready to sail.”
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