Promotion to flag rank usually implies substantial ability, but Lord Cork and Orrery is presented as a counterexample. Cork became too focused on Royal Navy interests and spent much of the Norwegian campaign fighting the Army instead of performing his operational role. Interservice rivalry can turn experience into a liability at joint-command level. The case qualifies the lecture's general defence of senior officers because some leaders no longer fitted the task they held.
Notable Point · 2:15:40-2:16:00
Lord Cork and the cost of interservice rivalry in Norway
Lord Cork and Orrery qualifies the claim that reaching flag rank normally demonstrates continuing fitness for high command.