The Navy might reinstate Capt. Brett Crozier, former commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier. That’s because Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday might be finding that it was Crozier’s chain of command that failed him and not the other way around.

The first point to note here is that there are a lot of unanswered questions as to why Crozier sent off his mass email warning of coronavirus calamity and requesting an urgent return to port. Sent to numerous Navy officers outside Crozier’s direct command chain, that email got Crozier fired. But did Crozier send the email because he was angry at not getting his way? Or was that because Rear Adm. Stuart Baker and higher-ups were stonewalling, putting his crew at risk?