The Royal Navy's divisional system gave sailors another route for raising problems, sometimes through personnel outside their immediate command chain. The informal chief petty officer network could carry a complaint to the top of the ship. These channels helped resolve grievances, although decisions imposed from above could still create trouble. An officer sympathetic to protesting sailors could avoid giving an order they were likely to refuse. Withholding that order kept the dispute from becoming a formal act of disobedience and gave officers room to seek a settlement.
Chapter · 2:11-5:18
Divisional channels and the decision to give an order
Divisional reporting and chief petty officer networks gave sailors channels for complaints, while officers could contain a dispute by withholding an order they expected to be refused.