Long-term scarcity can teach officers to protect valuable ships so carefully that they struggle to judge necessary wartime risk. The popular story about replacing cautious US submarine commanders is treated skeptically, while a broader institutional problem remains visible in 1941 and 1942. Destroyer officers regularly practised aggressive manoeuvre and learned the difference between necessary and unnecessary danger. The night-transit example contrasts the known collision risk of zigzagging with the less visible risk of submarines and torpedoes when ships steam predictably. The criticism falls on the system that formed commanders rather than individual courage or competence.
Notable Point · 59:08-1:04:11
How scarce assets shaped command risk
Long-term scarcity could teach officers to protect cruisers so carefully that known peacetime risks displaced less visible wartime dangers.