But Guy Snodgrass, a retired F-18 squadron commander who knows several officers on the Theodore Roosevelt, said Modly’s comments were viewed as “the definition of … ‘hypocritical’” by those on the ship.

“He told the sailors that he had to fire Capt. Crozier because of his indiscretion in sending up that memorandum and how that got to the media, but here he is, blasting this stuff out,” said Snodgrass, who added that he’d been told that “everyone on the ship is livid.”

It wasn’t just the text, but the manner of Modly’s delivery that upset sailors, according to Snodgrass, adding that according to Theodore Roosevelt sailors he’d heard, Modley marched onto the ship, “gave a 15-minute ‘tirade’ and immediately left the carrier.” The acting secretary chose to speak over the ship’s intercom system rather than to address sailors in person in the carrier’s vast hangar bay, a decision that Snodgrass said “most sailors believe” was motivated by a desire “to avoid public backlash from the crew.”