Why did disobeying Halsey's order to stop searching after Typhoon Cobra not lead to a court-martial?
Short answerA court-martial would require Halsey to justify his order, while those who disobeyed could defend their reasons for continuing the search.
NotesA court-martial would have required Halsey to defend the order as well as the officers to justify disobeying it. Senior admirals may also have agreed with the decision to continue searching. A prosecution could therefore have caused more trouble within the US Navy than it resolved. Both Halsey and the officers who acted differently had reasons they could present in their defence.