Staff College and Tactical School turn experience into doctrine

The Staff College addressed the First World War's shortage of trained staff work, with Beatty arguing that the Navy had paid dearly for inadequate preparation. His warning is set against his preference for a better-connected but insufficiently trained signals staff officer over the well-trained Somerville, whom the Mediterranean command quickly recruited. The course sought to broaden officers' study of war and make them think beyond narrow specializations. The Tactical School pursued a more scientific approach to tactics and, under Frederic Dreyer's influence, helped draft battle and later fighting instructions. Reginald Henderson used both institutions to review ship designs, convoy battles, raids, global force distribution, and preparations built around the expectation of war after the Ten Year Rule ended.