Senior naval leaders need several routes through which lower-deck experience can reach them with little filtering. A single route can be compromised, so additional channels help expose problems that would otherwise remain hidden. Metrics also become less informative when people discover which figures leadership rewards and adjust their reporting to meet them. Favorable returns on meals, complaints and workload cannot outweigh visible evidence of sailors breaking down in passageways. The practical instruction is to investigate the crew's experience when it conflicts with reassuring paperwork.
Notable Point · 1:25:50-1:28:47
Why readiness figures need checking against crew experience
Multiple feedback channels and direct observation help commanders detect exhausted crews even when formal readiness figures look healthy.