I too, would be surprised if the DG was complicit in the planning. If true, it sounds more like a spur-of-the-moment burst of insanity.
Perhaps the intervening years of 'peace' have lowered the perception of the crews towards the very real hazards in theatre.
But then we get back into the realms of 'it wouldn't have happened in my day', don't we.
BTW, not certain about crew composition these days, but there
is the remote possibility that it
wasn't a SNCO in the left hand seat. Some Rodneys had the physical stature to be employable in the beast.