Not click bate. Not unintentional.
Problem is I interviewed a number of Sr Navy officers and only a few knew what a Chief Mate was. In the eyes of most of them it’s the equivalent of a senior chief.
Second problem is the Commanding office is Captain. Quast, a doctor who is not a ship captain and is not in command of the ship.
I agree the semantics are wrong but IMHO it’s the Navy that is in error.
But, holy hell, multiple accounts of rape aboard one of the most famous ships in the world and my inbox is filled with lots of semantic corrections and very little to suggestions for meaningful change.
P.S. I admit to the semantic confusion within the body of the article (under “connecting the dots”) and clearly state that “No naval officer has been accused of wrongdoing”.