As navies go, the U.S. Navy is not conservative. It pioneered in dive-bombing, in landings and take-offs from carrier decks, in torpedo-plane attack. But the Navy is conservative, if not downright shortsighted, in its officer promotion system.
A major peacetime difficulty is deciding who will be brilliant commanders in war. In peacetime the Navy wants men who will run an efficient Navy. In wartime efficiency is not enough: the premium is on the man of originality, resourcefulness, quickness of mind. That sort of man is penalized by the Navy's peacetime promotion system....
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
