Word riddle

In the darkest hour of World War II a wave of bombers returned from a mission over Germany. They had been savaged during the raid and many planes were lost. The Commanding Officer herded the crews into a tent right afterwards and asked from what direction the enemy fighters hit them. Without hesitation almost everybody chimed in “From above, and from the rear.” The commanding officer turned to his Intelligence Officer and said “Get that info to the crews leaving on the next raid. It might save a lot of lives.” As the Intelligence Officer hurried to leave, the Operations Quality Officer stood up and said “Stop! Telling the crews that might get even more killed.”
WHY DID HE SAY THAT?