Long common education, specialization by aptitude, and later access to command were designed to give the Navy well-rounded officers at every level. The scheme looked revolutionary partly because it replaced a career structure that had evolved over more than a century without ever being designed as a coherent whole. Imposed change frightened groups that believed they possessed influence within the inherited system and no longer controlled its direction. Opponents eventually dismantled the scheme, yet the service did not return to the old order. Further reorganizations followed in the 1920s, during the Second World War, in the 1960s, and in the 1990s, with mixed results.
Chapter · 44:57-48:24
A revolutionary-looking reform becomes continuous adaptation
The scheme sought a broad pool of technically literate specialists and commanders, but replacing an inherited career system made controlled reform look revolutionary.