Initial Navy report: Sailors taken by Iran made errors

Reads a lot like the 507th Maintenance Company - with a better ending.

I'd like to say it doesn't sound plausible...but, it all fits. We "assume" that our units are all properly manned, with perfectly maintained equipment and second-to-none support. The reality is that so much of what accounts for our national defense hinges on very tired, possibly ill-prepared personnel, operating equipment ill-designed for the mission at hand, under a host of less than ideal circumstances. What I want to know, if all of the above is true, is what forced an exhausted crew in a troublesome craft, out on a mission they didn't properly prepare for? Was it a "critical" need...the LT not having the spine to call it "down", or someone back shore-side not willing to take the "hit" for failure to launch? As to the LT's later actions...again, if all of the above is true, then once he found himself surrounded, the choices would've been limited, and once in custody, his primary focus was on keeping his people alive. Sounds like a soup-sandwich from the moment these folks hit the pier the night prior, and the real "blame" probably lies with the decisions made somewhere between then, and the push.