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He sent an email to his commander and his commander's commander about how the situation was deteriorating... which were then leaked to the press and was promptl

He sent an email to his commander and his commander's commander about how the situation was deteriorating... which were then leaked to the press and was promptly relieved of command by Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly who later on resigned. Most people think it was a good call but it also may have compromised the safety of the carrier because now it's known they may be operating under less than perfect condition.

khuey 7y ago
The Washington Post managed to get the original letter: https://twitter.com/DanLamothe/status/1250840016806445056 https://twitter.com/DanLamothe/status/1250840016806445056 It's pretty clear he was canned by a political appointee for political reasons.
- philwelch 7y ago
  Yes and no. He was relieved because he went around the chain of command, which is a universal career-ending move in the military even if you do it for all the right reasons—which he did. Also, although he was relieved of command, he wasn’t “fired” or “canned” or discharged from the Navy. He will undoubtedly go into an early retirement with a full pension at his current rank of Captain. That doesn’t change the fundamental unfairness of how he’s been treated, but he’s going to be fine. And I think he knew and accepted the consequences of his actions.
  - michaelt 7y ago
    Do you mean e-mailing your commander's commander is a universal career-ending move in the navy? Or was he discharged on evidence or assumption he leaked to the press himself?
    - joncrane 7y ago
      Emailing your commander's commander with a groundbreaking complaint is extremely dangerous to your career, yes. (And not just in the Navy)
  - neuronic 7y ago
    It's better to do the right thing than the correct thing and this man will be able to live with himself throughout his pension instead of having a heavy conscience weigh him down. From all I could gather from Europe, I believe he acted as a human more than a robot and under the given circumstances it was the right call.
de_watcher 7y ago
Ok, apparently his commanders didn't want the responsibility. They wanted a "phone call" they can ignore, not a written record that will later bite them in the ass. And in order to actually act they had to leak it because silently acting on it involves getting a refusal from their commanders and also writing an email. It's monkeys all the way up.

khuey 7y ago

The Washington Post managed to get the original letter: https://twitter.com/DanLamothe/status/1250840016806445056 https://twitter.com/DanLamothe/status/1250840016806445056 It's pretty clear he was canned by a political appointee for political reasons.

philwelch 7y ago
Yes and no. He was relieved because he went around the chain of command, which is a universal career-ending move in the military even if you do it for all the right reasons—which he did. Also, although he was relieved of command, he wasn’t “fired” or “canned” or discharged from the Navy. He will undoubtedly go into an early retirement with a full pension at his current rank of Captain. That doesn’t change the fundamental unfairness of how he’s been treated, but he’s going to be fine. And I think he knew and accepted the consequences of his actions.
- michaelt 7y ago
  Do you mean e-mailing your commander's commander is a universal career-ending move in the navy? Or was he discharged on evidence or assumption he leaked to the press himself?
  - joncrane 7y ago
    Emailing your commander's commander with a groundbreaking complaint is extremely dangerous to your career, yes. (And not just in the Navy)
- neuronic 7y ago
  It's better to do the right thing than the correct thing and this man will be able to live with himself throughout his pension instead of having a heavy conscience weigh him down. From all I could gather from Europe, I believe he acted as a human more than a robot and under the given circumstances it was the right call.

de_watcher 7y ago

Ok, apparently his commanders didn't want the responsibility. They wanted a "phone call" they can ignore, not a written record that will later bite them in the ass. And in order to actually act they had to leak it because silently acting on it involves getting a refusal from their commanders and also writing an email. It's monkeys all the way up.