Syndicate Operative in the Brotherhood of the Sword PvE queue is too close to the initial Herald group, and as such gets attacked before players can even reach him.
The problem is, even though he doesn't die before players interact with him, he's reduced to 0 HP, meaning, the moment players try to escort him, he dies.
So if you don't have any healing abilities he's pretty much doomed. It's not a big issue on Normal, as it's an Optional Objective, but on Advanced and Elite it's essentially a failed mission.
Screenshot -
http://i.imgur.com/MZyan1Q.jpg
The Operative should either be positioned somewhere else, or he shouldn't be targettable by the initial Herald group until players initiate the escort.