I was taking a risk. If we later discovered that someone’s actions were sufficiently neglectful to warrant punishment I would have painted myself into a box. However, I felt the candor and honesty of Petty Officer M were more important than continuing the current process of inquisition, fear, and punishment. “Now, gentlemen, how are we going to prevent this from happening again?” And that’s what we spent the next seven and a half hours talking about.
