14 Facts About Brett Crozier

Brett Crozier was relieved of command by then-acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly after sending a letter to Navy leaders asking that most of the crew be taken ashore which was leaked to the press.

Brett Crozier was reassigned to a shore position and retired in March 2022.

Brett Crozier graduated from Santa Rosa High School in 1988 and then entered the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Brett Crozier received his master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island in 2007, and completed Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek, South Carolina in 2014.

In 2006, Brett Crozier was assigned to VFA-125, the "Rough Raiders," and served as an instructor and Fleet Replacement Squadron Operations Officer.

Brett Crozier later served as the executive officer, then commanding officer of VFA-94, based at Naval Station Lemoore in California.

Brett Crozier led his squadron on expeditionary deployments with Marine Aircraft Group 12 from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, to support Pacific operations and the Afghan and Iraq Wars.

Brett Crozier then reported to Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO in Naples, Italy, and served as the lead air planner for Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn and Combined Joint Task Force Deputy Director of Targeting for NATO's Operation Unified Protector, both in Libya.

Brett Crozier was captain of Theodore Roosevelt, then deployed in the Pacific, on March 24,2020, when three members of the crew tested positive for COVID-19.

Brett Crozier wanted to have most of the crew immediately taken ashore, saying it was impossible to prevent the spread of the virus in the close quarters of the ship.

Brett Crozier copied the message to seven other captains, five of whom were on board the Roosevelt and two who were executive assistants to the admirals.

The investigation centered on the circumstances surrounding Brett Crozier's firing and whether "a breakdown in communications" had taken place.

In 2023, Brett Crozier wrote a memoir, Surf When You Can: Lessons in Life, Loyalty, and Leadership from a Maverick Navy Captain, in which he describes how surfing has helped him balance his life.

Brett Crozier spoke to a video interview with Navy Times, discussing the book and his time in the Navy.