Witnesses described Daniel as calm.
He said he had believed Daniel was temporary civilian help.
Ward looked at him for several seconds.
“Would any of this have happened if you knew he was a retired master chief?”
Logan did not answer.
Daniel did.
“No.”
Logan glared at him.
Daniel continued. “And that is why the question matters.”
He opened the sanitized after-action package.
“Three weeks ago, Specialist Aaron Bell corrected your route during the assignment.”
Logan’s face changed.
“That material is restricted.”
“This copy is approved for leadership review.”
Ward nodded.
Daniel tapped the page.
“The report says you accepted Bell’s recommendation and the team benefited. That is good leadership. Why have you been telling people the alternate route was your plan?”
Logan stared at the paper.
“I have not.”
The command master chief spoke for the first time.
“You said it during the operations brief Monday. I was there.”
Logan’s jaw tightened.
“I was speaking generally.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You are not in trouble because another person had a good idea. You are in trouble because you think authority becomes smaller when credit is shared.”
Logan stood.
“I will not sit here and be analyzed by a retired dishwasher.”
Ward’s voice hardened.
“Sit down, Captain.”
He did.
