I agree with your points and principle but this guy is different. He caused the death of people in his company who went looking for the deserter and wasn't worth the high price and egg on our face.
Local commanders are responsible for missions ultimately, his commander did not listen to his platoon mates who claimed he had deserted and sided with the Taliban.
He certainly made a situation occur that otherwise wouldn't have. His commander is ultimately responsible for the loss of life unless orders came from on higher. There are also ways for ground commanders to avoid doing certain missions, one method is through risk assessment. Using composite risk management commanders can figure out the particular level of danger of a mission. If a commander does a good job and assigns the right NCO for the job the mission becomes FAR TOO DANGEROUS and not worth the risk of life or equipment.
Even without including the use of CRM, which is required on EVERY MISSION according to army policy, the commander failed to make a call. From PT to calling for fire, everything gets an assessment.
The courts martial will seek justice, I hope it is found.