I think when all the dust settles...there’s just two guys standing there...some junior-junior Petty Officer and some mid-grade Petty Officer. Maybe the OOD had some brief reason to step out for fifteen minutes....maybe to take a smoke even. But I suspect we will find that there was no element of leadership standing there and reviewing actions.
“Maybe the OOD had some brief reason to step out for fifteen minutes”
In my day, we didn’t abandon our watch unless properly relieved by a qualified watch-stander.
This doesn’t seem likely to me.