Former Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's Monday trip to Guam cost him his job and taxpayers an estimated $243,000.
Modly traveled on a modified Gulfstream jet, CNN reports, with a flight time of roughly 35 hours. It costs about $6,946.19 per hour to fly the plane.
He went to Guam to speak to sailors on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Last week, while still commander of the aircraft carrier, Capt. Brett Crozier wrote a memo to the Navy, saying "decisive action" was needed to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus on the ship. "We are not at war," he said. "Sailors do not need to die."
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The memo was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle, and Crozier was dismissed. Modly arrived in Guam a few days later, and while addressing sailors, he disparaged Crozier, calling him "stupid" and "naive." He later tried to backtrack and apologized for "any pain my remarks may have caused," but it wasn't enough, and he resigned on Tuesday.
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