[ATTW-L] Captain Crozier's letter

[Stuart Selber]

Hi Beth—

Thanks for your perspective. I’m wondering how you might view the ethical dimensions of the situation? For example, one could argue he violated the chain of command for the welfare of the people he’s responsible for. Is it ever okay to violate a chain of command, or must you follow it in any and all circumstances?

I agree with Sam: This could make for a pretty interesting case.

Anyway, hope you’re doing well,

Stuart

> On Apr 5, 2020, at 5:25 PM, Tebeaux, Elizabeth D <e-tebeaux at tamu.edu> wrote:
> 
> As I just responded to Sam, following chain of command is critical.  The military cannot allow wildcatters.  Roosevelt responded as President, not as a military officer.  General Jack Kemp said he thought the decision should been made by a lower level admiral who would have identified more closely with the commander, but the head of the defense department had the authority to do what he did.  Again another perspective.
> 
> Unless you have served in the military, you may have difficulty understanding the military perspective.  I do, as my father served in WAII.
> 
> Again, this is a good study in rhetoric.  Had the captain thought carefully about who else might read his letter, he might have saved his job and sent fewer copies.  Perhaps he was also feeling ill.
> 
> Elizabeth Tebeaux
> Professor Et
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Apr 5, 2020, at 2:27 PM, Dragga, Sam <Sam.Dragga at ttu.edu <mailto:Sam.Dragga at ttu.edu>> wrote:
> 
>> Again, as you are teaching your online classes, a timely example for class discussion is the letter written by Captain Brett Crozier of the USS Theodore Roosevelt to US Navy officials soliciting resources to mitigate coronavirus infection on the 5000-sailor aircraft carrier.  Captain Crozier was fired following news coverage of this letter but was cheered by sailors as he exited the ship.  The 4-page letter uses numbered headings, lists, short sentences, and plain language.  It is available at
>> https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6821571/TR-COVID-19-Assistance-Request.pdf <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__assets.documentcloud.org_documents_6821571_TR-2DCOVID-2D19-2DAssistance-2DRequest.pdf&d=DwMGaQ&c=u6LDEWzohnDQ01ySGnxMzg&r=swYNluFs0a1sUtl6MwAUWcaQenK5NHFz1yTvxsYzlVA&m=mLKCZ0oPYe3y6cKZOSissygZk2CUFNZKEzdB6C5mXlw&s=-hlCsbkLIZf6NkVN0NO-b3vUDirLC5Q3bnPVjOQMlXU&e=>.
>>  
>> Ironically, as several military new sources are reporting, Theodore Roosevelt himself is responsible for a similar letter circulated to the Associated Press during the 1898 Spanish-American War, as he explains in the 1899 autobiography, The Rough Riders.  The “round-robin letter” is at https://books.google.com/books?id=zmR_ltzDGwEC&pg=PA295&lpg=PA295&dq=APPENDIX+C+THE+%22ROUND+ROBIN%22+LETTER <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__books.google.com_books-3Fid-3DzmR-5FltzDGwEC-26pg-3DPA295-26lpg-3DPA295-26dq-3DAPPENDIX-2BC-2BTHE-2B-2522ROUND-2BROBIN-2522-2BLETTER&d=DwMGaQ&c=u6LDEWzohnDQ01ySGnxMzg&r=swYNluFs0a1sUtl6MwAUWcaQenK5NHFz1yTvxsYzlVA&m=mLKCZ0oPYe3y6cKZOSissygZk2CUFNZKEzdB6C5mXlw&s=QA8JN3s1slWmEd5Q7ZPI15petzdgUVnvOAPfQBNONMo&e=>.
>>  
>> I think the two letters could make for interesting comparative analyses from historical, rhetorical, and ethical perspectives.
>>  
>> Sam
>>  
>> Sam Dragga
>> Professor Emeritus, Texas Tech University
>> Editor, Technical Communication
>> sam.dragga at ttu.edu <mailto:sam.dragga at ttu.edu>
>> 1-806-543-6099
>>  
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