Article title about Marine Helicopter crash gravely misleading

The article titled “Leader of Marine helicopter squadron fired days before crash” written by Audrey McAvoy for the Associated Press, one would think that the leader who got fired caused the crash of those two helicopters himself and that it would probably not have happened had he been fired after the maneuvers were over but then that reasonable person would have been wrong.

The article talked more about the firing of the air wing commander and a little about the crash but nothing about how the crash had anything to do with the firing unless, the commanders had allowed chicken fights between helicopter pilots which may explain why one may have crashed into another.  It’s the only thing that I can think of which may make any sense but it is also something that should have been asked and answered by those in charge since the loss of life was more than just copter and pilot but other people’s sons and daughters who were on board those crafts. 

Maybe the leadership heard about these things and just had a talk with the now fired commander instead of immediately stepping in and stepping up to insure that this accident was prevented.  Maybe all those in the higher chain should be held accountable for the actions of a commander because in the Marines, no commander goes renegade.  Officers are not designed to ignore what is allowed and tolerated, not even for what may be best for their Marines and sailors under their command.  If you speak directly to any commander, he/she will always quote his or her orders as the ultimate source to guide their decisions.  Back in the day, officers used to think about the orders that they receive, modify them to fit their current situation and make completion of a mission a win, win for everyone but today, officer appear not to have the backbone to say or do what is right by their subordinates and strive more to follow those outside of the immediate affected areas idea of what should be done so that they will keep their commissions.  Maybe the commander knew better but refused to do better for his betterment and all it cost him was his commission, his career and the lives of 12 other people.  Not too high of a price to pay if all you are concerned with is yourself but we may never know these things because the article does not even closely approach any of these possibilities.  Talk about being informative and covering stories from all angles so that readers could truly enjoy what they are reading and read more.  I guess this is not as important as it once was in the industry of journalism, but then I could be wrong.