Why professional authority does not settle procurement questions

Churchill's training at Sandhurst and service as a junior cavalry officer are suggested as possible reasons for his deference to senior officers. Professional competence, however, does not remove the need to question a procurement decision. What officers want can differ from what their budget allows them to buy. Reaching an affordable design requires choices about which capabilities to sacrifice, and political decisions impose further limits. Understanding those compromises requires access to the plan that the equipment is supposed to support.