The Navy has a bit of a history with this kind of character assassination history. It took something like 40 years for them to reverse the travesty of the USS Indianapolis CO being wrongfully charged and convicted is one good example.
There have always been spit and polish types who have no love for special forces units and personnel who, while they can be force multipliers, have a history of some officers trying to shoehorn them into the 'regular' force. Some are of flag rank, and resent the acclaim and respect the SF get while not strictly adhering to protocol for the 'regular' force.
The Indy was on what amounted to a 'special' mission, secret, delivering the nukes that ended the war.
Anything which causes the egg salad to slide off visors and land on faces will be passed down the line to the highest ranking scapegoat available, whether that scapegoat survives the incident or not.