Staff qualifications and Beatty's communications appointments

An earlier naval staff could have accelerated professional training and made staff experience a more consistent part of an officer's career. A central Admiralty organization built around specialist qualifications would also create pressure for deployed admirals to choose qualified staff. Communications provides the concrete example: the criticism of Beatty's choice is that Seymour's connections outweighed the specialist experience available in Somerville. The proposed alternative would restrict the choice of communications officer to officers qualified for that work. Its premise is that general naval experience does not automatically confer the skills needed for every staff appointment.