[AndyJackson]

as a team player, he should have brought it up through the chain of command, and then blown the whistle if it didn’t get approved

Get what approved?

[MortMan]

In a position like the NSC, the officer in question is expected to follow the chain of command, but has access to the whistle blower route if the answer provided by the chain of command does not effectively respond to the complaint. By that, it means that the answer returned back down the chain does not clearly identify a reason that obviates the complainant’s rationale for complaining.

That’s this former O-3’s take.