Captain Brett Crozier received a thunderous send-off Friday morning as he exited the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt in Guam. Video taken by sailors on the aircraft carrier show hundreds of service members chanting "Captain Crozier! Captain Crozier!" and clapping as he walked down the gangway.
Crozier was relieved of his duty by Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly after sending a strongly-worded letter to Navy leadership about the spread of COVID-19 on his ship.
He was ousted for sending the letter over "non-secure unclassified email" to a "broad array of people" rather than up the chain of command.
In the letter, Crozier urged Navy leadership to evacuate the vessel as the rate of infection among the sailors increased. "We are not at war, and therefore cannot allow a single Sailor to perish as a result of this pandemic unnecessarily," Crozier wrote.
via U.S. Pacific Fleet / Flickr
As of Wednesday, around 25% of the 4,800-member crew had been tested for COVID-19 and 93 were found to be infected. It's expected that 2700 service members will vacate this ship this week, with a small crew staying on board for maintenance.
The letter was leaked to the media, sparking outrage across the country. Modly says the letter also caused a panic among the sailors on the ship and their families back home.
"I have no doubt in my mind that Captain Crozier did what he thought was in the best interest of the safety and well-being of his crew," Modly said. "Unfortunately, it did the opposite. It unnecessarily raised the alarm of the families of our sailors and Marines with no plans to address those concerns."
"The responsibility for this decision rests with me," Modly added. "I expect no congratulations for it. Captain Crozier is an incredible man."
Crozier will keep his rank and remain in the Navy.
Former Vice President Joe Biden criticized the Navy's acting secretary in a statement saying that he "shot the messenger — a commanding officer who was faithful to both his national security mission and his duty to care for his sailors, and who rightly focused attention on a broader concern about how to maintain military readiness during this pandemic."
Michael Washington shared footage of Crozier's send off where someone is heard saying, "That's how you send out one of the greatest captains you ever had."
Video taken by Taliah Peterkin shows Crozier exiting the ship and giving a final salute.
Footage shared on Twitter by Danny Ocean shows Crozier taking a long walk down the gangway to a cheering crowd chanting his name.
The footage of Crozier exiting the ship is a beautiful display of sailors cheering the man who sacrificed his career to protect not only their lives, but the health of everyone they would encounter. Even though he's no longer captain of the U.S.S. Roosevelt, there's no doubt his heroism will be long remembered by his former crew and the country he proudly serves.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."