Evening star., 1941-12-23

fleets - the At Maj G. Fielding Eliot
lantic fleet, the Pacific fleet and the
Asiatic fleet-each with a command
| er in chief with the rank of admiral
The commander in chief of the Pa
cific fleet was supposed also to be
| the commander in chief of the whole
but it is not sound practice to
appoint the commander of one frac-
ton Of command to be the COM
mander OF the whole as we'll; either
the interests Of his particular frac-
ton will suffer, or he will be unable
because Of local responsibilities to
exercise effective control In the
larger sphere Of activity.
Simplifies Control.
In addition to these commanders
In chief af1oat. the chief Of naval
operations at Washington exercised
general control over the operations
of the fleet and the entire naval
shore establishment as we'll, being in
effect a naval chief of staff, though
not occupying the same legal posi-
ton as the chief of staff Of the Army.
This system neither provided for
effective and centralized command
OF the feet nor for a proper control
of administration and supply. In
evitably the chief of naval opera
tions became overworked and showed
under with administrative detail,
while there was no commander in
chief afloat who possessed adequate
means for exercising supreme COM
mand.
The new arrangement immensely
simplifies and clarifies the control
OF the naval establishment. A
single commander in chief with full
control Of all operations has been
appointed, with headquarters in
Washington and with a staff func-
tioning in the Navy Department in
close touch with the President, the
oCSlC vi VIC navy dIid SAlS
other departments Of the Govern
ment. He has nothing to do but
to command the naval forces Of the
United States and to use those
forces to the best effect to bring
about victory. The three COM
manders of the three fleets are d.
rectly responsible to this COM
mander In chief, who in turn is di-
rectly responsible to the President
through the Secretary Of the Navy.
The Importance Of this well-deflned
chain OF responsibility cannot be
overemphasized. The commander
in chief may, If he sees At. hoist his
nag afioat and proceed to any point
where his duties may require him
to go.
Has Aviation Background.
The chief OF naval operations will
continue to exercise control over
administration and supply. the
building program, the training Of
personnel and the naval shore es-
tablishment in general. It will be
his task to see to it that the COM
mander in chief has the means
with which to carry on his opera
tions.
This change should not be con-
sidered in any other light than as
a necessary step toward victory. The
oficer selected as commander in
chief, Admiral Ernest J. King, for
merly commander in chief of the
Atlantic fleet, has had the benefit
Of his experience in that capacity
on active service, under the condi-
tions Of modern warfare. He has
the further advantage Of being a
naval aviator and of having COM
manded the aircraft OF the fleet, as
well as having been chief OF the
Bureau Of Aeronautics. This back
ground gives him unique qualifica-
tions for the supreme command un-
der present conditions. The qualifi-
cations he already has exemplified
by his remarkable success In the
command Of the Atlantic fleet where
his dispositions have been 20 well
conceived and energetic that during