Reginald Henderson's likely path to Far East command

How were rising officers such as Reginald Henderson prepared for high command?

Henderson received Far East staff experience and studied Japan, putting him on a plausible path to command Britain's eastern naval forces around 1940.

Promising Royal Navy officers were developed through overseas staff appointments as well as ship commands. Henderson went to the Far East after the First World War, served on an admiral's staff, and studied the Japanese. That experience placed him on a route toward senior regional command rather than leaving him known only for later carrier advocacy. In this counterfactual, he might have succeeded Percy Noble and commanded the eastern force instead of Tom Phillips had he lived long enough.