diverberr once bubbled...
I'm not saying he is, but he may have been the most experienced, best equipped, and safest diver on the boat that day.
Sounds to me like your friend had the misfortune to encounter a "tech 1 pack". This would be a group of divers with very little experience in real world diving who have taken probably 3 courses in their lives, o/w, dirf, and GUE tech 1.
Sometimes folks get things in their heads that aren't exactly accurate. Rule #1 is the perfect example. The rule states "Don't dive with strokes". It's a good rule. The problem, of course is in the definition of "stroke".
Stroke DOES NOT mean a non-DIR diver. Does everyone get that? It means an unsafe diver. Yes, unsafe divers are generally non-DIR but the reverse is not always true. There are thousands of good safe divers who don't dive DIR.
On my last dive there were 3 buddy teams, fitting into each of the 3 categories. First, there was my buddy and I, both basically DIR divers (although neither of us is GUE trained), then there was a team diving non-DIR but with quality equipment (no, not all Halcyon)and clear experience and knowledge, finally there was a stroke team, 2 folks, one of who used to be somebody but had been dry for years and his wife who had very little experience.
It was easy to tell which team was stroking as they had trouble putting their gear together, had too much gear (who needs 4 primary reels???)and were just generally a major mess.
The dive was the Hydro Atlantic wreck, 180'. The seas were running 2-3 and current was cranking.
Consulting with the captain my buddy and I asked for a live drop and pickup. The second team requested same. The third team, however, wanted an ascent/descent line.
The end result was that my team would live drop with the line and hook it into the wreck. The second team would live drop about a minute after we did, and the third team would wait until we had secured the line. The second team would release the line at the end of the dive as the third team planned only a 15 minute BT while the other 2 would do 25.
Everything went fine for the first 2 teams. The third, we found out later, never even made it underwater. They were dropped perfectly but missed the line and couldn't beat the current. Best thing that could have happened in my opinion.
Bottom line is that divers can be safe whether DIR or not.
I would have dived with your friend.
Tom