Former Acting Navy Secretary's Embarrassing 35-Hour Round Trip to Guam Cost Taxpayers $243,000
April 10th 2020
Thomas B. Modly, 33rd undersecretary of the Navy, addresses attendees of "Breaking the Mold; A Workshop on War and Strategy in the 21st Century.” (U.S. Navy photo by Edwin L. Wriston/Released)
By Walter Einenkel
When Capt. Brett Crozier, the former commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, was fired after a leaked letter he wrote to higher ups pleading for help with COVID-19 infections on his ship leaked, former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly proceeded to fly to Guam. The USS Theodore Roosevelt and its 4,000-member crew was harbored at an American base there and Modly wanted to explain the investigation-less and unceremonious relieving of Capt. Crozier from his position. Then-acting Navy Secretary Modly proceeded to badmouth Crozier to his former sailors—receiving in-house backlash as he did.
The audio of Modly’s disgraceful leadership leaked as well, leading to pressure from all corners for Modly to resign. Earlier this week, Modly did indeed tender his resignation and it was accepted. This ill-advised trip, spanning 35 hours between Washington and Guam and back again, only cost taxpayers $243,000. According to The Washington Post, the exact amount of the trip, which featured a refueling in Hawaii on a military version of the Gulfstream G550, was $243,151.65—around $6,946.19 per hour. Good money if you can spend it.
Sailors working under Capt. Crozier gathered to see him off in a boisterous showing of appreciation for what one sailor called “one of the greatest captains you ever had.” Respect is earned through action. So while autocrats, and the cowardly genuflecting to incompetent wanna be dictators may seem the best way to get ahead these days, it will not solve the problems we have. Capt. Crozier knew that. Modly needs to learn it.
Posted with permission