If he leaked it, Courts Martial is appropriate.
The operational status of a warship on deployment is classified. As are statements about any reduction in capability.
Again, IF he leaked it.
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I think he leaked it to higher authorities—and they may have leaked it to the media.
We will find out more...
But—we are having a problem with doctors and nurses and other health care workers threatened with termination if they point out their hospital’s negligence with PPEs.
That is legitimate whistleblowing in my book.
The military is a tougher case—but again if a dumb admiral is risking the health and safety of a crew—I can totally understand the captain risking sanctions and speaking out on their behalf.
Apparently, he e-mailed the letter to over 20 other people. That’s close enough to leaking it. Very poor judgement. Since the actions he was requesting involved significant impact to the combat readiness of the ship, he would have been wise to classify the letter Confidential, and keep it off of the unclass network. I suspect they will track down the actual leaker.