After over a month in quarantine in Guam, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier will be heading back to sea – but not all of its crew members will be sailing with her.
Stars and Stripes reported that many of the carrier’s crew will remain in quarantine in Guam while the ship goes back to sea duty, helmed by Capt. Carlos Sardiello, who replaces the ship’s former top officer Capt. Brett Crozier.
Crozier was removed from his post after a letter he sent regarding the coronavirus outbreak on his ship and pleading for help for sailors on board the Theodore Roosevelt was leaked to the press and became public.
When Crozier left his ship, his crew chanted his name as a sign of support for their relieved captain. Sardiello told CBS News that when he took over from Crozier, “the mood of the crew was a challenging situation.”
However, he told the crew, “"We have a job to do. It's like no job we have ever faced, but we're U.S. sailors. You know me. I know you. I had your back before. I'm going to have your back now."
Sardiello had served as captain of the Theodore Roosevelt before Crozier.
The ship has been deep cleaned and sailors reporting for duty back on the ship have been tested for coronavirus three times.
Over 4,000 sailors went ashore in Guam and lived in hotels while waiting to be recalled, and over 2,000 are now back on the ship, Business Insider reports. About 1,000 will remain on Guam and will be picked up later for transport back to the US.
In all, 1,156 sailors have tested positive and one died.
Capt. Crozier has recovered from coronavirus and Adm. Mike Gilday, the top officer in the Navy, has recommended that he be reinstated as the ship’s captain. Any action is awaiting the results of an investigation into the outbreak.
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