Eh, it works for some characters, but it was shown in Finn's case how stupid he was being...he thought he was making a difference, but he wasn't. Same thing in Poe's case...he played hero ball and ended up decimating the bomber fleet in the process.
Yeah. And, I was glad they called him out on that...but...it also is an issue.
But, again...this goes to a theme that I see underlying in hollywood sci fi (well, at least Star Trek post JJ, and now Star Wars)...
The military doctrine, or environment, doesn't make a lick of sense.
Poe says "hey, we are gonna do this". Leia sees it is a tactical mistake and gets on the wide broadcast spectrum and says "belay that order, all fighters return to the ship!".
That is FAR more likely.
So, who was really at fault, when you get down to it? Poe for being a reckless flyboy? Or the commanders of the fleet, who seemed to know this was going to be a disaster but decided to allow their military assets to be destroyed willy nilly so that Poe could "learn his lesson"?
Think about it...Poe mobilized, of his own accord, the majority of the remaining fighter/bomber assets the Rebels have. That means the ships were fueled, they were armed, the flight deck was prepared, they were launched...all without the Commander on the SAME SHIP being aware or intervening. You can get away with that when it's a few rogues, that essentially "defy orders" and fly out with two, maybe three ships...but, an entire squadron plus a bomber squadron? And the reasoning is...because Poe said so?
It doesn't make sense... And, when you realize that, you are left with the impression that Leia was, in a way, out of line...blaming Poe for her own failure.
Either she didn't know Poe was mustering the attack, which means that her organization lacks discipline and order to the point of ineffectiveness, which is her failing in her leadership.
Or, she DID know Poe was mustering the attack, but let it happen anyway, which means she's being vindictive because it was such a loss of assets, and only because of that. It implies that she was fine with it enough to let it happen, but won't take ownership that she let it happen when it turns into a massive overall loss. It's not "clever" or "wise" to blame Poe for that, if she was aware...it's petty, which is a failing in her leadership.
There is a third option, which is she DID know, tried to stop it, but the flight crews and pilots ALL ignored her, which goes back to her organization lacking discipline, and a reflection of a failing in her leadership.
It was why in that little "rewrite", which is far from perfect, but...where I was going with that section...I just skipped the whole planet bombardment and had the dreadnaught immediately destroy ships in a "larger" Rebel fleet. It was to try and keep the dressing down (which I liked), while injecting reason that doesn't reveal all involved to be totally inept.
One, with the Rebel fleet being larger, there is less "urgency" to conserve assets from them...they can fight it out. The tip of the scale is the overwhelming power of the lasers on the dreadnaught, which can destroy a ship that can hold it's own against a lesser First Order ship (read...Star Destroyer), but can't withstand this weapon.
Two, if the bombers are not part of established flight squadrons yet, there is little chance for Command to override Poe's action, due to reaction time (see my comment above about getting the fighters/bombers ready in dock). And, even though I left in Leia's objection (I liked the Poe dressing down, that was good), it isn't as convoluted when Poe is doing it on a whim, and the actions of his fellow pilots make more sense to follow him when they are a) In immediate danger themselves, being already in a state of peril and b) are watching the First Order obliterate the fleet (not some abandoned ground base, because, it was established by the time of the attack that the last transport was away)
Three, Poe's action makes more sense, so you can sympathize with his decision...only to have the military doctrine shoved in his face later during the dressing down. You see it as heroic, not silly. But, you also understand where Leia is coming from later, in that the assets are more important to the larger mission than the capital ships being lost (which...in and of itself doesn't make much sense...but, it makes more sense than what actually happened on screen). And, since the mission is to collect the bombers and leave quickly, Poe's actions FORCED the fleet to stay longer. This inserts urgency into Poe's action to attack the ship...instead of him taking his time with some convoluted prank calling to Gen. Hux, ending with a yo momma joke.
