Sims taught future junior officers how to exercise initiative

Before American entry into the First World War, Sims addressed volunteers training to become future junior naval officers. His advice concerned how a junior officer could balance trust in a superior with confidence in personal judgment. His account of mission command gives subordinates an objective and room to decide how to accomplish it. The superior must permit that initiative, while the subordinate must trust the commander's intent. Armstrong finds a close parallel with Mahan's treatment of Nelson but does not know whether Sims read that essay. The Royal Navy's 'objective instructions' express a related principle.