Upon hearing this, the Combined Fleet commanders relented and accepted the proposed plan. The ships' crews were briefed on the nature of the mission and given the opportunity to stay behind if desired; none did. However, approximately 80 crew members who were new, sick, or infirm, were ordered off the ships, including sixty-seven naval cadets of Etajima Naval Academy Class No. 74 who had arrived on the battleship three days earlier. The ships' crews now engaged in some last-minute intense drills to prepare for the mission, mostly practicing damage control procedures. At midnight, the ships were fueled. Reportedly, in secret defiance of orders to provide the ships with only just enough fuel to reach Okinawa, the Tokuyama personnel actually gave "Yamato" and the other ships almost all of the remaining fuel in the port, although this probably still was not enough to allow the force to return to Japan from Okinawa. In a ceremonial farewell, officers and enlisted men drank sake together.