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Comment by jki275 | Hacker News Reader

He may not have actually leaked the memo -- but he made sure it got leaked. SECNAV's call was the correct one.

> he made sure it got leaked

Is there evidence of that?

Yes. He sent it to at least 20 people outside his chain of command. That's what you do if you want to make sure something gets leaked.

There are formal and proper reporting channels for things like this. He went outside them, on purpose, to ensure the letter got leaked.

Thanks. That's very interesting he sent it to more than 20 people, though I haven't seen that reported on with official sources claiming so yet, maybe I missed something.

Not everyone agrees this was the right call:

https://armedservices.house.gov/press-releases?ID=2EFC2A13-1...

I don't really care what HASC has to say about anything. They're a bunch of political hacks. From their own letter: "While Captain Crozier clearly went outside the chain of command, " -- they don't even understand this is a mortal sin in the Navy. You don't go outside your chain of command.

The other has been widely reported, this CNN article has quotes from SECNAV.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/politics/uss-roosevelt-comman...

> they don't even understand this is a mortal sin in the Navy. You don't go outside your chain of command.

When the captain made the decision to send the letter, wasn't he at that time superior to you in rank? But it's no problem for you to second guess his actions?

I guess I don't understand this chain of command business very well.

I don't work for the Captain. I've been retired for several years. He's not my superior and his rank doesn't matter. He made it a news item, and I'll second guess whatever I want to.

The Captain sent the letter to many people not in his chain of command, including someone who sent it to the newspaper (as he most likely expected would happen). That's not done in the Navy. Sending a letter like that to his superiors was perfectly acceptable. Getting it on the front cover of Navy Enquirer is not.

Yes, you are correct. You don't under this chain of command business at all.

Those 20 people weren't random yahoos. They were credentialed navy / DOD brass with the appropriate level of clearance.

One of them leaked it to the press. So no.

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