If not specifically directed by POTUS, the action was certainly INSPIRED by him. I suspect the Admiral received a phone call something like “Admiral, this is a national embarrassment, Fix it!”
Also note that this came straight from CNO, bypassing the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Vice Admiral Hannink. I have to wonder if he will soon announce he is retiring to spend more time with his family...
I would suspect that he will. This happened on his watch, like a ship having an accident at sea. He can't point to someone else and say that they failed. As you know, it doesn't work that way in the military.
Don’t you think that Vice Admiral Hannink is the one who signed off on the medals?
I will say this...it just makes the leadership look stupid after they get caught doing something like this. You could ask any sailor or Marine about getting a medal for a failed effort, and they’d just start laughing at the idea.