One year ago today, Captain Brett Crozier walked down the gangway of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. He had been relieved of command after the San Francisco Chronicle reported the contents of a leaked letter he wrote to his superiors in March pleading for help as his crew battled an outbreak of Covid-19 while underway.

While the political appointees in Washington were displeased with Captain Crozier, his crew understood and appreciated what he had done for them. They gave him a rousing send-off, to cheers and applause, chanting his name and proclaiming him the GOAT( the Greatest Of All Time).

Likewise, many outside the active-duty Navy praised Crozier’s courage. Lawrence Korb, who served as assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, wrote in the Navy Times that in speaking truth to power, Captain Crozier made us proud. An article in Forbes described Captain Brett Crozier as “Standing Tall For His Sailors.” The Boston Globe editorial board opined, the US Navy captain fired for sounding the alarm about a coronavirus outbreak on an aircraft carrier deserves praise not scorn. Tweed Roosevelt, the great-grandson of Presdient Theodore Roosevelt, wrote a column published in the New York Times, titled “Captain Crozier Is A Hero.” In it, he explains that Crozier “risked” his career and “deserved our deepest gratitude.”

The COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Theodore Roosevelt ultimately sickened more than 1,200 crew members, one of whom died of the disease.

But how did Crozier’s colleagues respond to his firing? The Task and Purpose blog filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to find out. Task and Purpose reports:

Despite the Navy later blaming Crozier for sending an urgent plea for help, soon after his letter was leaked to the media, fellow commanding officers and others sent him messages of support.

“I know you are feeling an immense amount of heat and outside pressure from everything that is going on right now, but wanted to let you know that the people who matter still support you,” wrote Capt. Sean Bailey, who was then the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush.

“I admire your commitment to communicating candidly to leadership and I’m confident that the ‘leak’ to the SF Chronicle was someone else’s misdirected motivation,” Bailey continued in the April 1 email. “Regardless, I know that you are doing what is right to take care of your Sailors and your ship.  Let me know if I can help.”

Cmdr. Patrick Eliason, who was then commanding officer of the destroyer USS The Sullivans, thanked Crozier for “having the guts” to risk his career by sending the letter.

Eliason also wrote that he felt Navy leaders were “trying to wish this problem away.”

“I can tell you there are a number of us at the O5 [Navy commander] level that feel like we are being second guessed in any action taken to prevent this from taking over as well as our response,” Eliason wrote in a March 31 email. “Hopefully your letter starts to move the needle in how we are dealing with this onboard ship and the Navy writ large.”

On April 2, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, suggested that Crozier speak with a lawyer. “The below [Judge Advocate General] is standing by for the call,” wrote Capt. Douglas Peterson. “Recommended to me was sooner rather than later.”

Many members of the Theodore Roosevelt’s crew felt that Crozier had fallen on his sword for them, as evidenced by emails he received leading up to his removal and afterward.

Crozier also received notes of thanks from sailors elsewhere in the Navy, including a captain apparently assigned to the Navy’s Surface Force in the Pacific Fleet who gave him perhaps the highest compliment a naval aviator could muster.

“Saw your letter yesterday in the news,” the captain wrote Crozier on April 1. “I just wanted you to know that it’s the coolest thing I’ve seen…even bigger than a negative 4G inverted dive while conducting international relations.”

Thanks to Captain Richard Bailey for contributing to this post.