Captain's loyalty

It is not for nothing that it is said that in difficult moments the true paste of which people are made is demonstrated. And who is clear about the concepts and who is not. One of them is going to be very important not only during the overcoming of the health crisis, but in what will come afterwards. This is the responsibility that comes with exercising power. Who considers command as a responsibility to those who are his subordinates in the command structure and who exercises it as a privilege over those who consider his inferiors.

A good example of the former has been given by Brett Crozier, the military man in charge of the American aircraft carrier Theodore Roosvelt, who in the face of choosing between the men and women he commanded and his brilliant career, has chosen the former. In an era where no one wants to put anything compromising in writing because the words are blown away by the wind and it is enough to deny what was stated outright a minute earlier, Captain Crozier wrote to his superiors in writing demanding that they allow their crew to disembark before the serious risk of an outbreak of coronavirus on board. Crozier has been fired outright. He abandoned one of the most powerful ships in the world - based on the example that the fighter jets he is carrying outnumbers that of most of the world's air forces - while his crew crowded on deck with a warm applause of appreciation and gratitude. .

Among the reasons given to relieve him of command, and end his career, the politician who gave the order has explained that Captain Crozier had been carried away by his emotions when writing the letter. But it turns out to be just the opposite. At a time when rulers around the world are appealing precisely to emotions rather than reason, using, among other things, a decaffeinated warlike language - because it is obvious that in a war death as a maximum sacrifice is not only inevitable, but demandable Captain Crozier sat down to write a letter. Not an undo on social networks as its president does, nor a whatsaasp to colleagues like everyone these days. A formal document in which he exposed two truths: this is not a war situation, but something else, and the responsibility he has towards his subordinates.

It is often said - although it is not necessarily true - that the captain eats alone in his cabin. The phrase reflects the loneliness of the person who ultimately has to make the decisions. Your doubts, your assessment of what is at stake, your priorities and your principles. The applause of the subordinates does not appear on the service record or on the bibs in the form of a medal, but it is a demonstration of recognition to those who have been loyal to their subordinates to the end.

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