Countless books on leadership theory have been written throughout history. Many of these vignettes focus on leadership under fire or duress as the great test of leadership and, as such, tend to focus on military leaders. One such military leader and situation I would like to discuss today is Captain Brett Crozier, US Navy, relieved of duty from the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
From all accounts of people that worked with Captain Brett "Chopper" Crozier, including for him and above him, he had all the hallmarks of naval officer destined for great things. Graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1992, he flew both the SH-60 heavy lift helicopter and the FA-18 jet fighter, a testament to his tenacity. His career path saw him quickly promoted to command groups, special task forces, and, finally, the prestigious post of captain of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its roughly 4,800 crew members in on November 1st, 2019.
The beginning date of his command was November 1st, 2019. One of his first duties as captain was a "flag" tour of Southeast Asia, basically amounting to a presence patrol meant to inspire confidence in the US Navy's ability to respond to crisis around the world. This "flag tour" designation would play into Captain Croziers calculus in March, 2022 after an ordered port call to Vietnam. While docked, some of his crew contract the SARS COV-2 virus, little understood at the time, and Captain Crozier had the unfortunate responsibility of being a test case on how to slow the spread of the virus in the extremely tight quarters of an aircraft carrier.
While the US Navy on land was adopting essential worker only policies, Captain Crozier had no such luxury and could only watch as his crew experienced and exponential spread of the virus. As environments go, the USN ship presented the virus an optimal breading ground as "social distancing" was nearly impossible. Of the 4,800 crew under his command, 736 had sever symptoms and 590 experienced mild symptoms, roughly 28%. It was in these dire circumstances that Captain Crozier made the fateful decision to send an unencrypted email to 10 flag officers in his chain of command, knowing that its probably leak would likely mean the end of his stellar career.
Captain Crozier was leadership personified; his selfless decision to put the well-being of his crew above his personal ambitions was not lost on his crew. His farewell address to his crew while himself suffering the symptoms of the virus went viral on Twitter. Of particular note in this video, none of his sailors were seen with masks on or distanced. It's been reported that this was a result of the fatalism that had taken hold of the crew. They had resigned themselves to their fate, abandoned by their command save Captain Crozier.
Captain Croziers selfless act saw him at odds with the then current White House position that COVID was little more than a common cold, and undue executive influence led to his removal from command. His placement of personal ethos above his career ambitions represents the ideal of leadership qualities and will remaining a lofty goalpost for anyone in a leadership position.
For further reading on Captain Brett "Chopper" Crozier and other leadership practitioners, I highly recommend To Risk It All, by Admiral James Stavridis.
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