Burke's CNO tenure and procurement

The opening quip about Burke answering a challenge with '31 knots' introduces the destroyer commander before turning to his three terms as Chief of Naval Operations, the longest tenure in the post. He wanted forty Polaris submarines and obtained forty-one, pursuing a deterrent intended to prevent the nuclear war he opposed. His career is used to argue that operational experience and political work both matter to a service chief. Funding, personnel support, and the case for naval capabilities must be argued before Congress or its equivalent. The Arleigh Burke class supplies a later comparison: its persistence against proposed replacements is likened to its namesake's repeated reappointment as CNO.