In a recent post, I mentioned President Roosevelt's request that Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox identify the best 40 admirals in the navy. The list turned out not to be very useful, and Roosevelt's ire at the failure of admirals by February of 1942 to have a significant victory against Japan was a bit misdirected.
Some early errors of omission or commission were beyond the control of the admirals.
Something to keep in mind is the dynamics of the flag officer corps in the navy.
The admirals were all graduates of the US Naval Academy. They had known each other, collaborated and competed with each other since they were teenagers. Naval Academy midshipmen sort themselves out into a pecking order during their plebe year, usually at the age of seventeen or eighteen. The pecking order and the nicknames assigned with them follow them for their entire professional careers.
Of the prominent admirals in World War II, the eldest was Admiral Leahy, class of 1897. Next in line were Admiral Pye, commander of Pacific Fleet battleships and Admiral Earnest King, Commander in Chief of the US Fleet, both from the class of 1901. Others graduated from 1902 through 1908. They knew each other at the Naval Academy and had been both comrades and rivals for more than three decades.
They were intelligent and able men, trained to command. They had different styles of leadership and different strengths and weaknesses.
They did remarkably well.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment