This handout photo released by the US Navy shows Captain Brett Crozier addressing the crew for the first time as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during a change of command ceremony on the ship’s flight deck in San Diego, California on Nov 1, 2019. (SEAN LYNCH / US NAVY / AFP)

WASHINGTON - Even as he is hailed as a hero by his crew, the fired commander of a coronavirus-stricken US aircraft carrier is being reassigned while investigators consider whether he should face disciplinary action, acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly told Reuters on Friday.

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Captain Brett Crozier was relieved of his command of the Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday after a scathing letter in which he called on the Navy for stronger action to halt the spread of the virus aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was leaked to the media.

He’ll get reassigned, he’s not thrown out of the Navy

Thomas Modly, US Navy Secretary 

Modly said in an interview that the letter was shared too widely and leaked before even he could see it.

But the backlash to Modly’s decision to fire Crozier has been intense. In videos posted online, sailors on the Theodore Roosevelt applauded Crozier and hailed him as a hero, out to defend his crew - even at great personal cost to his career.

“And that’s how you send out one of the greatest captains you ever had,” exclaimed one sailor in a video post, amid thunderous applause and cheering for Crozier as he left the carrier and its 5,000 crew members in Guam.

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Modly did not suggest that Crozier’s career was over, saying he thought everyone deserved a chance at “redemption.”

“He’ll get reassigned, he’s not thrown out of the Navy,” Modly said.

But Modly said he did not know if Crozier would face disciplinary action, telling Reuters it would be up to a probe that will look into issues surrounding “communications” and the chain of command that led to the incident.

“I’m not going to direct them to do anything (other) than to investigate the facts to the best of their ability. I cannot exercise undue command influence over that investigation,” he said. 

More than 120,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Navy to reinstate Crozier.

“His actions possibly saved many lives,” the online petition said. “Although he was fired, his plan to safely remove crew members was still implemented. He is a hero who should be rewarded.”

On Friday, one day after the launch of the petition on Change.org, over 123,000 people had signed, well on the way to the goal of 150,000.