Kimmel warned in February 1941 that an air, submarine, or combined surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was possible and promised to take practical measures against it. The argument is that Kimmel did not receive all the higher-level intelligence available in Washington and was not a Japan specialist in the same way Richardson was. That difference left Kimmel dependent on the threat picture, reconnaissance assets, and reports actually reaching his headquarters. The proposed standard is practical: assess whether an officer acted reasonably on the information available at the time, rather than on later knowledge.
Notable Point · 28:33-31:16
Judge Kimmel by the information he received
Kimmel expected a possible air or submarine attack, but the video argues that his decisions should be judged against the incomplete intelligence actually passed to Hawaii.