Elmo Zumwalt's experiment started with people rather than machinery. DesRon 26 placed top-line destroyers under officers one rank below the usual command level, giving younger talent responsibility early enough to test it. Some assignments failed, but the squadron created opportunities for officers who later did well in their U.S. Navy careers. The experiment shows why force quality depends on developing people as well as buying platforms.
Notable Point · 29:15-30:04
Zumwalt's DesRon 26 experiment
DesRon 26 gave promising younger officers early command of first-line destroyers as a practical leadership experiment.