Them sneaking off doing some crazy sneaky stuff that was really dangerous to begin with technically. Do you think they went overboard or where they doing the right thing in their opinion?
Yes .. by design. Having people serve as officers after only a few years of the primary military academy is not unrealistic. During timed of war, commissions are expedited to get more officers into the field. However, it seems completely far fetched that a group of cadets would have had so much sunshine blown up their bottoms that they felt they could act independently. They would have been taught--even if they were made to feel special--that different types of leadership must be used at every level, especially above them. Red Squad is a good thought experiment on how heroism and leadership are portrayed. They took the arbitrary positions given to them in an exercise for truth, but lacked the skill to lead without the support of regular officers. One can't just want to be heroic or be given a seat from which to give commands. Bring right about a few things isn't enough to move a group to successful action.
They were fine operating the ship as long as she was doing normal everyday things. Not when they were trying to take on the Jem Hadar dreadnaught. They should have tried to make contact with Starfleet right away. Who knows, with changing circumstances due to the progress of the war there might have been more important missions the ship could be used for. But they knew Starfleet would have them join the fleet again and probably drop Red Squad off back at the Academy, and then their fun would be over. Officers usually get the big promotion to captain after 10 to 20 years, during which they've gained experience and stopped ignoring warning signs... like the cadet captain taking pep pills. Too bad they didn't have a medical officer aboard or he would have been relieved.