Vice Admirals Josiah Slutts McKean and Ashley Herman Robertson, successive commanders of the Scouting Fleet from December 1924 through May 1927, inherited the Omaha class and a force whose purpose was still unsettled. Their work covered the ships in service and the ideas governing their use. They gave scouting, screening, presence, and battle-support concepts enough form for later officers and designers to develop. Their tenure ties naval leadership to doctrine formation before the better-known treaty cruisers entered mature service.
Notable Point · 28:07-29:56
McKean and Robertson give cruiser doctrine its framework
Two scouting-fleet commanders turned an unsettled collection of ships and missions into the basis of an American cruiser doctrine.