I hear what you're saying, but a conversation is one thing where as disobeying an order (which didn't happen) would have been entirely different. From a "neutral" perspective, one could say Miley had set the stage for potentially violating a direct order.
Additionally, it’s not like his actions are completely unprecedented. If you recall, in 1974 (my glorious birth year!) SECDEF Schlesinger took it upon himself to intercept nuclear launch orders out of concern over Nixon’s instability...clearly without the president’s direction. Admiral Crowe also engaged in Cold War backchannel talks with the Soviets that weren’t always explicitly authorized by Reagan. I'm sure there are others.
