Johnnie Walker's sloop background signals competence

How should Johnnie Walker's earlier sloop career be assessed?

He likes Walker and notes that coming through sloop command was a serious mark of trust because navies did not put weak officers in charge of distant-station fighting sloops.

Johnnie Walker receives a brief but pointed endorsement. Sloop command was a serious responsibility because those ships handled distant-station duties, escort work, and practical fighting tasks. Walker's later anti-submarine reputation was rooted in that earlier small-ship professionalism.