The most plausible explanation is that OpenAI tech was used for the military. That would explain why Eric Schmidt would not (and his immediate support) and that board is anti-mil tech enough to think those applications don’t “benefit all of humanity.”

Ilya and Mira probably didn’t know and might have discovered it recently and raised it with the board, hence the promotion. Note: both have Eastern-European ties, so if the application is in Ukraine, they could have strong feelings about it. Greg co-signed or knew and didn’t tell.

Alternatively, Elon found about it through StarLink and wanted to get revenge.

Alternatively, it could be a case where there was an option, Sam refused on ethical grounds without telling the board; they thought what is happening in Ukraine (or Gaza—Sam’s bio is a single Star of David, uncharacteristically short) justified the intervention. They confronted him, and he lied — or couldn’t tell because he was under a sworn statement to defend military secrets.

Either way, it explains the secrecy.