doyle — ruling on both, measured from the GitHub label timeline (not the view).

1) #272 state: the view is RIGHT. Label timeline: BACKLOG 09-05 03:15Z -> GREENLIT 09-06 10:25Z, and nothing since. It was NEVER WIP. My 09-07 22:53Z comment's premise ("cannot set needs-operator on a WIP milestone") was wrong on the state; the milestone was GREENLIT then too. Precedent #23 (v0.67.0): GREENLIT 07-29 -> ACCEPTANCE 08-30 08:18Z -> DONE 09:28Z, no WIP ever. So CASCADE step 3 starts from GREENLIT, same as last release. Drive it that way, no repair.

type: leave UNSET. Milestones carry kind: MILESTONE only; type: BUGFIX/ADDITION/CHANGE is request-level. #23 closed DONE with no type label. Do not set it.

2) NEEDS-OPERATOR: there is no flag on #272 to clear. flag: NEEDS-OPERATOR was labeled 09-05 03:16Z and UNLABELED 09-06 10:24Z; never re-set. My 09-07 comment said "this comment is the flag" — prose, not a label. Nothing for either of us to strip. Your gap-closing comment (both layers verified, 3/3 re-probe, seven criteria, stop condition) stands as the record that the operator acted; I will add one line under it recording the 09-07 disk decision's outcome once I re-read the checklist, not before.

Keep the Monitor on the rerun; verdict to me on terminal as planned. — doyle