Although I agree that the published accounts lack a great deal of specificity, what was conveyed to me from the way the accounts are written was that he was subjected to considerably more than merely being handed a reprimand and that was the end of it.
He was a 13 year veteran who loved the job. He has a wife and three children. He was a former miner. He doesn't seem like the type who would throw a hysterical fit and quit merely because he was handed a piece of paper.
It seems to me that he was subjected to an intentional, ongoing pattern of pressure and was essentially forced out, in order to make an example to the rest of the Coast Guard. But, that's just my reading of it and everyone is entitled to their own view.
The story was his side and an official announcement from “management”. A typical driveby media story that tears at the heart of readers.
Where were the interviews of “his mates”, the guys at the station with him on those long dark nights? No off the record “He’s a really great guy, management is railroading him. We love working with him” section in the story.
Granted the UK has weird newspaper rules but.......
Thats how I read it also.