[ATTW-L] Context Captain Crozier's letter

Thu Apr 9 01:06:04 UTC 2020

Hello all,

This was a really interesting example, and I also wanted some additional
context so I could understand the ethical complexity and chain-of-command
more deeply. One of my students who is a veteran was kind enough to share
their thoughts on Captain Crozier's actions, and it provided me with some
context I would have never realized on my own.  The student gave me
permission to forward his response to this list, in case the additional
context and perspective is valuable to anyone else on this list-serv.

Student response below:

I'm a 20+ year veteran of the Army National Guard including an infantry
combat tour back in 05-06.  I've been a grunt or in a grunt unit my entire
career.  I have also worked as a civilian for the Army, Navy and Air Force
at various points in my professional career.

We need to first address one key component that those who never serve need
to understand.  Each branch is organized in a manner that supports either
the "person" or the "equipment.  For example, the Navy and Air Force rely
heavily on the readiness of their equipment.  Without functioning
airplanes, the Air Force is ineffective.  Without functioning boats, the
Navy is ineffective.  The Army and Marines on the other hand, their key
mission is the boots on the ground.  It's the tank, the truck, etc that
gets the soldier/marine to their destination to fight or support the war
fighter.

Understanding this now, the focus is much different.  Losing a ship or
aircraft is a lot of money and psychologically demoralizing event as well
as a PR nightmare for the Navy and Air Force.  Losing a soldier or the crew
of a tank or truck is psychologically demoralizing to the Army or Marines.
There is a different sense of identity between these different sets of
branches of the military.  When you talk to Navy or Air Force personnel or
veterans, they identify by which Fleet/Tour/Boat(s) they were on or the
base/aircraft they supported.  Soldiers and Marines identify to a unit
typically no larger than a Division size (approx 10K personnel ) but
usually down to a Company size (120ish) or even a platoon they were in
(30ish).

Now that this has been explained, the sense of connection is different and
each branch understands this.  The letter and circumstances regarding
Crozier is much like the ending of the movie Behind Enemy Lines (fictional:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0MrFxZM188
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0MrFxZM188%E2%80%8B>).  Capt. Crozier
violated chain-of-command, but he did it in the spirit of being there for
his sailors (something the Navy struggles with immensely).  It is not
uncommon for the Navy to have two policies on the same topic that
contradict each other, then decide on conveniently which they chose to
abide by.  Capt Crozier brought to light the vary policies the Navy and CDC
were instructing them to do, yet he was forced to violate them because of
the "mission first" mentality.  Another very simple example of this is the
"backwards" US Flag on Army uniforms
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/heres-why-us-flag-sometimes-appears-backwards.
"We are always advancing, never retreating."  All branches suffer at times
from this, but it is most evident with the Navy.

In a nutshell, the Captain sacrificed his career to bring light to the
Navy's failings (which is frequent).  The Navy is one of the most lax
branches regarding it's security and safety protocols (Example:  USS Cole,
Washington Navy Yard Shooting, Pensacola NAS Shooting, TR COVID protocols,
etc.).  The list is endless by comparison to other branches.  Ethically and
Morally, the Captain was right.  Procedurally, he was wrong.

Jessica Lauer, PhD
-----

Michigan Technological University is located within Ojibwa (Chippewa)
homelands and ceded-territory established by the Treaty of 1842, the
territory of Native American nations in Gakiiwe’onaning (Keweenaw Bay),
Gete-gitgaaning (Lac Vieux Desert), Mashkii-ziibing (Bad River),
Odaawaa-zaaga’iganing (Lac Courte Oreilles), Waaswaaganing (Lac Du
Flambeau), Miskwaabikong (Red Cliff), Wezaawaagami-ziibiing (St. Croix),
and Zaka’aaganing (Sokaogon Mole Lake).

On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 9:55 AM Lettner-Rust, Heather <
lettnerrusthg at longwood.edu> wrote:

> This letter is indeed another contemporary example for the classroom. I
> typically use our university admin letters if they are explaining some
> exigency.
>
> For national examples, I can think of Brown's FEMA memo during Katrina and
> the whistleblower's letter of Trump's call to Ukraine, as ones I've used.
> But more often than not, I find myself needing to wait til the dust settles
> and more documents or details are out before I send students on a
> rhetorical analysis--am I alone in that? Perhaps, others are able to do the
> deep analysis quickly, but I stumble.
>
> The best I am able to do is to ask them what questions these letters
> raise; otherwise, I fear having them use rhetoric irresponsibly by doing
> rhet analysis that elides so much necessary context.
>
> I am thankful for the points already made on this thread about the
> letter's style, the military context, and Crozier's possible intentions.
>
> Heather
>
>
> Heather G. Lettner-Rust, PhD
> Associate Professor of English
> Civitae Writing Coordinator
> CAFE Writing Consultant
> 434.395.2162
>
> Longwood University
> Dept. of English & Modern Languages
> Grainger G10
> 201 High Street
> Farmville, VA  23909
>
> ________________________________________
> From: ATTW-L <attw-l-bounces at attw.org> on behalf of Duncan, Michael <
> duncanm at uhd.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, April 5, 2020 11:03 PM
> To: attw-l at attw.org
> Subject: Re: [ATTW-L] {ATTW-L] Captain Crozier's letter
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> CAUTION: This is an EXTERNAL email. Do not click links or open attachments
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>
> It’s an interesting ethical case. That said, the Navy doesn’t hand
> carriers to officers without deep respect for the chain of command, making
> his letter a symptom of considerable high jingo above him. Until that all
> comes forward, it’s difficult to analyze the text without more context,
> particularly regarding avenues Crozier may or may not have pursued before
> writing it and distributing it widely.
>
> The Post has an interesting article outlining the byplay between Mobly,
> Esper, Trump, and Navy leadership that led up to the removal - especially
> given the circumstances of the firing of Mobly’s predecessor.
>
>
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/04/trump-wants-him-fired-inside-ouster-capt-brett-crozier/
>
> Mike Duncan
> University of Houston-Downtown
>
> > On Apr 5, 2020, at 4:27 PM, "attw-l-request at attw.org" <
> attw-l-request at attw.org> wrote:
> >
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> > Today's Topics:
> >
> >  1. Captain Crozier's letter (Dragga, Sam)
> >  2. Re: Captain Crozier's letter (Tebeaux, Elizabeth D)
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2020 19:25:46 +0000
> > From: "Dragga, Sam" <Sam.Dragga at ttu.edu>
> > To: "attw-l at attw.org" <attw-l at attw.org>
> > Subject: [ATTW-L] Captain Crozier's letter
> > Message-ID: <13035926-5409-4827-9672-C387E38733D6 at ttu.edu>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> >
> > 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
> .
> >
> > 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
> .
> >
> > 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
> > 1-806-543-6099
> >
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> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2020 21:25:48 +0000
> > From: "Tebeaux, Elizabeth D" <e-tebeaux at tamu.edu>
> > To: "Dragga, Sam" <Sam.Dragga at ttu.edu>
> > Cc: "attw-l at attw.org" <attw-l at attw.org>
> > Subject: Re: [ATTW-L] Captain Crozier's letter
> > Message-ID: <F2D7E6D3-7617-4DE2-A3D4-59EE7562D752 at tamu.edu>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> >
> > 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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