It looks to me like these units were ordered by someone to spin up, unless they spend their waking days sitting in a running aircraft with weapons and full battle gear. Someone in their chain of command must have requested permission to proceed.
Why is it so hard to find out the orders that were given that night? These commands must have logbooks, eyewitness accounts, etc. Or maybe the troops just go find a running plane to sit in whenever they have time off????
get real.
The local field command (the LT’s and Captains (USMC, CDR’s and LCDR’s (USN) can START getting ready, can load aircraft and can load people on aircraft.
Even higher, they can get permission to take off - if the COL’s and generals and admirals are brave enough to say “go”- but they CANNOT cross borders without specific JCS-WH orders.
Basically they are ready at all times. Here is how an embassy rescue works as told by someone who used be on one of those teams.
Here is another post further explaining the process and a CBA.
They automatically "spin up" when a Critical Incident Report is issued and go as far as they can without crossing a foreign border until they get the CBA order from POTUS. They only stand down when someone tells their commander that they aren't going to get one. They can only know that if someone has tried to get the CBA and been rejected.