Acting Navy Secretary Modly resigns amid USS Theodore Roosevelt controversy

Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly, left, at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in February, 2020. At right is Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger. JOE GROMELSKI/STARS AND STRIPES
Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly, left, at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in February, 2020. At right is Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger. JOE GROMELSKI/STARS AND STRIPES

Acting Navy Secretary Modly resigns amid USS Theodore Roosevelt controversy

by Caitlin M. Kenney
Stars and Stripes
April 7, 2020

WASHINGTON — Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned Tuesday amid mounting criticism for his disparaging comments about the commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt who he fired over a leaked letter requesting aid for the coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement Tuesday that he had accepted Modly’s resignation.

“He resigned on his own accord, putting the Navy and the sailors above self so that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and the Navy as an institution, can move forward,” Esper said.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/1.625207

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