While commanding USS Wright, King was also senior aide on the staff of Commander Air Squadrons, Atlantic Fleet. The two jobs were difficult to reconcile because proper ship command prevented his continuous presence with the staff. The arrangement reflected a US Navy that was treaty-sized on paper but funded and administered as though it remained a small service. This institutional mismatch helps explain the multi-hatted appointments and rank complications that shaped interwar naval aviation.
Notable Point · 38:30-40:02
USS Wright's dual-hatted command revealed organizational strain
King simultaneously commanded a ship and served as a senior staff aide, exposing an underfunded Navy still organized like a much smaller force.