More than 400 service members aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for Covid-19. The deployed aircraft carrier has been parked in Guam as the Navy tries to clean the ship and stop the spread. The ship’s outbreak has attracted attention in recent days: The captain was relieved of his duty for how he handled himself in the crisis, and soon after the acting Navy secretary, who fired the captain, had to resign for his own missteps.

More is at stake than public relations. So far some 2,000 service members have...