I have ... issues with some of the points that essay raises.
No, Naval Reactors Himself most certainly DID NOT blame the Captains. His report absolutely DID call all that out. Yes, the USN sent the biggest asshole admiral in the entire USN out to find Root Causes of those collisions. An admiral from Submarines, where "Sir we can't do that" is an answer expected and required from an E3 to the Commanding Officer, as long as it's true. (I couldn't tell you how many times I've told an officer, "Dammit sir don't do that, you'll f*ing break it," occasionally with physically stopping the officer in question.)
The Captains were "blamed" because the Commanding Officer is always responsible for the ship. You run aground or into a ship actively attempting to hit you? You're fired. No discussion. Sailor attempts/commits suicide? If you knew sailor was suicidal, you're fired.
Why did the Captains lie and say that their ship was ready? Because if they told the truth, Big Navy would sack them and find a captain that would tell the Navy "yes sir, we're ready to go out to sea". Which was not an accepted practice in submarines then. I sure as hell hope it still isn't acceptable.
Why wasn't the ship ready? Delayed and deferred shipyard availabilities, such that no two ships of the same class in Seventh Fleet were actually operating using the same systems and equipment. Constant personnel shortfalls made up by temporarily assigning crew from a ship in port to a ship at sea. The personnel at the helm when those collisions happened had no experience with how the ship they were on operated, because the ship they knew worked differently.
