HMS Bristol was designed to accommodate a task-force commander's staff and had operated in that role. A proposed alternative for the Falklands was to deploy Bristol with Derek Reffell, who would probably have been the vice admiral commanding the combined force in the south. The political explanation offered for avoiding that arrangement is that defeat under a vice admiral would have caused greater damage to the navy's reputation. A rear admiral was senior enough to run a combat operation, yet could more readily carry the blame if it failed, while the commodore and brigade commander attracted less attention. In this counterfactual, deploying Reffell with Bristol could have resolved about 80 percent of the command problems. A headquarters above the separate groups would provide staff and authority for coordinating them.
Notable Point · 17:34-18:36
A proposed Bristol headquarters for the Falklands task force
A deployed headquarters aboard HMS Bristol under Derek Reffell could, in this counterfactual, have resolved most of the Falklands command problems. Political concerns are offered as the reason for avoiding it.