[ATTW-L] Context Captain Crozier's letter

Thu Apr 9 01:19:49 UTC 2020

I have a friend who just got off the ship (he was negative, but many of his
“immediate shipmates” - his words - were not) and from everything he’s
said, I think he would agree with your student. He certainly supported
Crozier here.

On Wed, Apr 8, 2020 at 9:06 PM Jessica Lauer <jlauer at mtu.edu> wrote:

> 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 unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>> 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
>> >
>> > -------------- next part --------------
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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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-- 

*Alisha Karabinus*
Bilsland Fellow 2019-2020
PhD Candidate, Rhetoric & Composition
Purdue University
pronouns: she/her
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