It may turn out the President’s schedule is booked, and he may have to report multiple times, during all weather conditions. It would suck if he had to stand there all day in the rain and cold until he remembered how the chain of command works.
While I sympathize with your comments this is not time for playing games with this guy or the Navy bureaucrats. The only message to the defiant admiral should be its time for you to retire. And the same fate awaits any one else who refuses to act on orders.