President Donald Trump says the coronavirus pandemic is a war, but he can’t even protect the military from it because it just struck an American aircraft carrier.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt was forced to dock in Guam after nearly 200 sailors tested positive for COVID-19. These ships contain close quarters, and that means the 4,000-person crew is at a high risk of contracting the virus. This is especially true since we all know by now what cruise ships are experiencing.
Most likely, the situation could be far worse on a military vessel.
That’s why Captain Brett Crozier penned a letter asking for help to contain and prevent the virus from spreading further, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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“This will require a political solution but it is the right thing to do,” Crozier wrote. “We are not at war. 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.”
Again, Trump has repeatedly said we are at war and has declared himself a “wartime president,” something Cozier contradicted in his letter.
He’s advocating for evacuating most of the crew from the ship and for the Navy to build onshore quarantine rooms in Guam for the sailors because it’s impossible to practice preventative measures on the ship.
“Due to a warship’s inherent limitations of space, we are not doing this,” Crozier wrote. “The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating. Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary measure. This is a necessary risk. Keeping over 4,000 young men and women on board the TR is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those Sailors entrusted to our care.”
If Trump really cares about our military he will make this a priority because aircraft carriers are just massive floating paperweights without a healthy crew.
Cozier once again pointed out the carrier is not operating during wartime because if it were, the crew would carry on with their duties.
“However, we are not at war, and therefore cannot allow a single Sailor to perish as a result of this pandemic unnecessarily,” Crozier concluded. “Decisive action is required now in order to comply with CDC and (Navy) guidance and prevent tragic outcomes.”
Trump’s failure to respond properly to this pandemic when he had a chance to do so has jeopardized our national security. If this virus ravages our military, we will have lost our first line of defense and our enemies will take advantage, thus making this crisis even worse — not just in the United States — but around the globe.
Featured image via screen capture
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