I haven't read that, but in my opinion he should have been court marshalled for what he did. If he didn't disobey a standing order, he most certainly used very poor judgement in doing what he did, and indeed risked the safety of his crew, the boat and the mission.
An example...after returning from patrol, normally 36 to 48-hours in length, we had to clean up the boats to turn them over to our relief crew...each boat had two crews assigned. This clean up process was typically very thorough...many boat officers thought their Swift Boats were miniature battle ships and when they were turned over they were CLEAN from stem to stern.
One of the boats used to drop anchor in a quiet little shallow bay on an obscure island where the crew used to scrub the boat down from bow to fantail...even washed down the hull. One time the tide went out and the boat was aground...stuck! The crew had to call for help and three boats were pulled off regular patrol to guard the beached guys until the tide came back in. The guns and ammo were transferred off the boat...the whole deal. The officer of this crew was nearly relieved of command when the CO got through with him...it was absolutely forbiden to beach a boat for any reason.
Kerry is an empty suit...I actually despise him more than I do Clintooon...something I didn't believe possible.