What most of you don't understand is that people in the military do NOT have "Constitutional Rights". They come under the 'Code of Military Justice".
This is a perfect example of a system working as it was designed to work,and of a senior officer taking the burden of command upon his shoulders and doing what he is sused AND EXPECTED to do,namely "fall on his own sword for the good of the service and those under his command."
If you hope to have an effective military,you can NOT allow officers or NCO's to disobey standing orders because the reality is the purpose of the military is to bleed and die for their country. "Self" is of no concern to anyone because if it were,nobody would ever "charge into gunfire". Doing your DUTY regardless of risk or personal sacrifice is at the core of the job.
AND.......,a commanders first responsibility is to his superiors,NOT the men and women in his command or himself. It HAS to be this way.
Anyone in command also has a responsibility towards anyone under them. You,as the commander,are responsible for the health,lives,and general well-being of everyone under your command.
Ironically enough,the ONLY person you are not expected,or even allowed,to protect is yourself.
Command in the military is a selfless job.
Sooo,to sum this up. That commander did EXACTLY what was required of him. He made sure the sailors under his command would have access to the medical care they needed even though he KNEW he was violating regulations by bypassing the chain of command.
He also knew without a doubt in his mind that he would be relived of his command and a new commander would be assigned to command his ship because REGARDLESS of the circumstances,a war ship at sea MUST remain a deterrent both in actuality as well as in the eyes of any potential enemy. He went public with the fact that his ship was not combat-ready,which assured him his sailors would be treated and that the ones hospitalized would be INSTANTLY replaced by healthy sailors,thus keeping his ship combat ready.
Nobody ever said life was fair. This is especially true when dealing with the Universal Code of Military Justice.