I think this was not a situation of an order being given -that is, a stand-down order - but simply of no order being given at all. It was a sensitive situation and probably these people, whether they were careerists or just diligent military personnel, would not have made any decision on their own.
They just never got an order or anything they felt that would enable them to cover themselves for any action, and since Obama has been all about attacking our military for any real or imagined offense, they were probably afraid to proceed without a specific order.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this article makes it appear that Col Bristol gave a “go if necessary” permission. LTC Gibson says he was told not to launch for any reason.
Those two don’t fit together.
I admittedly am ignorant about how the military works, but if there were assets in Libya, why would they have needed the CIC (so called) to give an order? The CIC alone would have had to give a CBA / Cross Border Authority order though if the assets were outside of Libya.