Torpedoes, staff work, and King's first destroyer commands

King graduated fourth in his Annapolis class, an excellent result that still fits the picture of effort rather than effortless supremacy. He studied torpedo design and operation, served on senior staffs, taught gunnery, ordnance, and seamanship, and worked as an engineering officer. That technical grounding and his habit of restudying forgotten material may later have helped him confront the Mark 14 torpedo problem. His preference for sailors' bars and poor fit with prevailing wardroom culture could have damaged his prospects, while his wife, a Baltimore socialite, helped him navigate that world. He received his first command in USS Terry in 1914, followed by USS Cassin and staff duty with William Sims and Henry Mayo. Contact with the Royal Navy during the First World War broadened his knowledge of allies and reinforced his awareness of the US Navy's rising global ambitions. When Mayo's chief of staff was injured, King stepped into the vacancy and reached captain in September 1918 after only sixteen years of service. Performance and contingency both accelerated his rise.