Chief of Naval Operations William Standley tried to assert stronger control over the Navy's bureau chiefs. Those chiefs held congressionally confirmed posts with their own political foundations, making the bureau system more than a simple chain beneath the CNO. King, William Leahy, and Secretary Claude Swanson were formidable opponents of Standley's centralizing effort. Their conflict reveals how authority over aviation, personnel, procurement, and policy was divided across overlapping naval and civilian institutions.
Notable Point · 56:41-57:59
Bureau chiefs contested the CNO's control of naval policy
King, Leahy, and Swanson resisted William Standley's effort to subordinate congressionally rooted bureaus to the Chief of Naval Operations.