The Leyte Gulf failure was a system-wide communications problem rather than one admiral's isolated mistake. Busy staffs can assume others are sharing information while every headquarters concentrates on its immediate tasks. A friendly-force counterpart to the intelligence officer could focus solely on what neighbouring commands are doing. Existing NATO-style staff divisions may leave that duty spread across officers who can be pulled into other urgent work, so explicit ownership matters. A dedicated officer for allied-force awareness could surface critical discrepancies before they become operational surprises.
Notable Point · 2:14:54-2:16:16
The missing staff role behind fleet communications
The Samar discussion argues for a staff officer dedicated to tracking neighboring friendly forces and keeping the commander informed.