Training detail as a command strength and risk

Kimmel cared deeply about training standards and the practical details that make ships fight effectively. This attention could become too narrow, but senior commanders also cannot ignore operational fundamentals simply because they need a strategic view. Admirals William Halsey and Willis Lee are cited as officers who thought Kimmel did well in raising fleet standards despite the lack of a major fleet exercise. The same gunnery reputation followed him to USS Arkansas, recognized during his time as executive officer as one of the finest ships in the fleet. The passage also foreshadows a grim operational paradox: had Kimmel detected the faster Japanese carrier force and taken his slower battle line to sea, the battleships might have been sunk beyond salvage with far greater loss of life.