Kimmel's early battleship service after his 1904 Naval Academy graduation included the full Great White Fleet voyage in USS Georgia. Serving aboard a divisional flagship exposed him to global operations and the demands of keeping an early battleship effective far from home. He developed lasting professional interests in gunnery and torpedoes and repeatedly moved between battleship and destroyer assignments. That record identifies him as an experienced fighting officer rather than a peacetime administrator suddenly placed at Pearl Harbor.
Chapter · 33:39-38:01
Kimmel's early sea service and gunnery reputation
Kimmel's service in USS Georgia and the Great White Fleet becomes a starting point for his reputation as a capable gunnery officer.