Communication, Ethics, and a Command Decision

Part 1: Analysis of the Scenario

The decision of Captain Crozier to disseminate a communication about the breakout of Covid-19 on the USS Theodore Roosevelt did not at all reflect the virtue, valor, collectedness, or understanding of that ships namesake. Teddy Roosevelt was as much a frontiersman as a leader of others; Crozier was rather like a town crier. Crozier, first, communicated his plea not up the chain of command as he should have done, but rather widely with the intention of having the content of the message gotten out into the open. As a Captain he should have known that the military does not look favorably upon this type of action. He should have trusted his superiors to know the right course of actionespecially since discretion was still warranted regarding Covid-19 so as not to cause panic; no one knew at the time how deadly it really was, and time has since shown that it was little different from a bad flu, particularly for young people who were far less at risk of death than elderly people were. Yet Crozier did not give much thought to caution. He sent the message as a Captain via email, and as a Captain he attached a great deal of significance to the message, for he was a man of authority. Yet he cheapened that authority by using email and the media to spread his message; for authority requires hierarchy and orderotherwise it becomes soft and flimsy and disrespected. Crozier compromised his own authority when he stepped outside the chains of command to alert the public about something he himself knew very little about. He acted more out of hysteria than out of a position of knowledge. His intent might have been to help his crew, but he distrusted the chain of command and thus demonstrated poor leadership...

Sailors do not need to die, with regards to some sailors having flu-like symptoms and testing positive for Covid-19 (Simkins, 2020). How Crozier could have ever written such a thing after having attained the rank of Captain is perhaps the most shocking thing: soldiers may not be at war in the sense that they are fightingbut they must always be ready for war; and they must always be ready to die. The attitude of Crozier...…through work, discipline and accomplishment. To step outside the zone of confidentiality and to communicate sensitive matters to the wider world is a demonstration of incompetence and extremely poor leadership.

Tone is another important aspect of communication in the military. Tone is that by which words are given increased significance. Tone can communicate more than words convey. A leader must always maintain a respectful and careful tonenever a hysterical one; never a presumptuous one; never a flighty one; never a cavalier one; never a tone of undue superiority; never a tone of pomposity or disrespect.

Convention is also an important aspect of communication in the military. Convention is the mode by which communication should rightly travel, by which messages should rightly be sent, delivered, and received. When convention is ignored, and communications are sent in a novel manner, the door is opened for all manner of novelties and revolutions to burst in and destroy convention. Without convention, the military is a horde without form, a mob without discipline. Convention is a norm for a reason and for good reason it should always be observed by all military personnel. Those who disregard convention will not serve in the military long.

This is your commanding officer reiterating these important lessons to all personnel. Remember them and reflect on them and…