1) Pavelka may have been keeping his pilots in check somehow, perhaps by demanding they follow exact protocol. With his firing they may have been flying in the manner they felt was denied them.

2) Pavelka may have been lax, allowing his pilots free rein, resulting in their actions being outside protocol. With a system of inadequate training under his command it was a matter of time before an accident happened.

Without being there it is hard to say and without the input of the deceased pilots anything the military says is only a guess.

but this is DU after all. . . This ex squid was just covering his ass.

Usually due to some kind of personal conduct (sex, booze, money, etc.)

We'll file this under your third way category. The higher up you go the more political it becomes. Disagreements occur and disagree with the wrong politically connected superior officer and you're career is over.

Stories that are best not told in public - let's not discredit the entire institution.

is not unlikely - either foreign or domestic. otherwise, how could two helicopters crash simultaneously or into one another?

It's a lot easier to crash than not to crash- all that has to happen is for one of the two pilots to fly a little too close to the other one.

This crash happened at night= over the ocean. Flying at night over the ocean, in close formation, is certainly not easy.