"Hence the fact that about 20 of them were out on a bender that night. "
hey this gets better and better. Are we to assume that all 20 were pilots / aircrew? Were they ALL off-duty for the next few days?
And fine leadership skills by the two who got caught.
And just imagine the headlines in the Gaddafi Times if one of these participants had screwed up on a mission:
"Pissed pork-eating pilots paveway'd primary school playground" or similar