I agree that Brandon should be punished. Look, I served in the Navy back in 1990 at Great Lakes and there were kids then who tried to weasel out of their service because their recruiter reassured them that they wouldn't be going to Iraq (in the first Persian Gulf War). You probably remember the story of that Marine who became a conscientious objector that was replayed ad nauseum on the network evening news. Kids enlist in the service dreaming about the places they may travel to without realizing the possibility of combat and dying or being injured in a war. I'm just saying the military needs to do a better job addressing these facts to those considering military service.
I served in the Navy back in 1990 at Great Lakes and there were kids then who tried to weasel out of their service because their recruiter reassured them that they wouldn't be going to Iraq (in the first Persian Gulf War). Peoples always try to weasel out of their service during basic/boot training. An Army Chaplin friend of mine, said that they had each excuse numbered, because they all came up with the same/similar excuses. (i.e. daily schedule 10am counsel pvt jones excuse # 3, 11am pvt smith excuse #2, etc)
So I wouldn't put any great weight in their excuses. Especially being in the navy, its not like they would be getting shot at in the front lines (unless they're a med corpsmen or chaplin's assistant attached to a marine unit.)