Destroyer officers learn fleet command early

Destroyer warfare required officers to think beyond their own ship early in their careers. A lieutenant commander might have to interpret partner divisions' movements, divide enemy gunfire, and preserve an attack's geometry within seconds. Repeated practice taught force integration before many cruiser or battleship officers reached a captain's chair. The estimated advantage is five to ten years of earlier experience in coordinating forces. That experience offers one explanation for destroyer officers' later prominence in senior naval command.