Why single quotations distort naval institutions

A large navy can contain officers whose statements support almost any later argument. Admirals condemning submarines served in the same institution that maintained a large submarine arm and invested heavily in submarine technology. Budgets, construction, and appointments therefore matter when deciding whether an opinion represented policy. Simple stories of naval decline also overlook officers who achieved their objectives without fighting major battles. An absence of fleet actions cannot by itself establish that a peacetime navy was ineffective.