Cold War amphibious command built for casualties

The expected structure placed a vice admiral over carrier and amphibious forces, with a rear admiral and specialist commodores beneath him. In 1982 that senior appointment was held by Vice Admiral Derek Reffell, who had previously served as Commodore Amphibious Warfare. At the time, commodore was an operational appointment for a senior captain rather than a permanent rank. The carrier and amphibious specialists could therefore command their own formations while remaining possible successors to the admirals above them. The redundancy reflected assumptions about a high-intensity fight around Norway: several officers aboard different command ships had to be capable of taking over if senior commanders were lost.