The Navy initially got things backward — a judgment without an investigation.

Belatedly, it is doing the right thing with a careful look at the sequence of events that led to the firing of Capt. Brett Crozier, commander of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Capt. Crozier made the mistake of pushing his bosses over a COVID-19 outbreak on his ship. There so far is no credible evidence he violated naval procedure or put national security in jeopardy. He simply sounded an alarm and begged for help for his crew.

Capt. Crozier deserves his job back. It would be a signal that Navy officials regard their sailors more than politics or niceties.

He was prescient in realizing how quickly the virus could spread aboard a ship. Unfortunately, sailors on several more ships have been infected since then. The Navy now is taking steps to respond quickly and protect sailors.

The investigation needs to be the first step in fixing what’s clearly a dysfunctional Navy and a disconnect between enlisted sailors and most of the high command. Our Navy is too important to our national defense to remain in disarray.

And in these COVID-19 times, ordinary sailors deserve superiors who will do their best to ensure their health and well-being, clearly not an easy task on the high seas.

Initially, the captain caused unwanted publicity for the Navy when a letter he wrote to his superiors and other commanders about the coronavirus outbreak on his ship was leaked, leading to headlines.

Within days, Capt. Crozier was relieved of command. The Navy did little at first to help the crew; high-ranking officials were more interested in getting rid of the captain.

Once there was an outcry over the captain’s dismissal from the public and sailors, the Navy began to address the spreading virus, but hundreds on the USS Theodore Roosevelt fell ill and one sailor died.

Then Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly, who fired Capt. Crozier, was forced to resign.

Recently, several Navy leaders called for Capt. Crozier’s reinstatement, but the new acting secretary of the Navy, James McPherson, decided to wait until a full investigation was completed.

The matter of the USS Theodore Roosevelt had one good result — quicker action by the Navy to help personnel falling ill on ships from the coronavirus and actions to protect healthy crew members from spread of the infection.

What remains to be done is more complex — reinstilling confidence in the Navy as an organization that cares about its personnel more than protecting its reputation, which ended up being left in a shambles.

A transparent release of the findings of the investigation would help to accomplish that — in the minds of sailors and the public.

First Published: May 7, 2020, 10:15 a.m.