OK Gewehr 43,
1. No... put the best "Watchmen" on the deck-watch team. On the crew page, find the "qualified" fellows with the highest Watchman and Leadership abilities (without "Leadership", they are apparently mutes). The game doesn't always give you the best watch crew, and sometimes they're downright incompetent, not warning of an aircraft until the dropped bomb has landed in your bunk and exploded, and you get the now-infamous "We're under attack, sir!"...
2. At this time, intel on the nets and minefields is sadly lacking, but we do expect our "spies" to be able to update things, hopefully soon, on some of that intel. We do have to get some portable radio sets out into the field. Be prepared for a Spec Op mission next... Trying to figure out a useable way to display it is a bit of a problem. If we use one of the in-game pull-out maps, we can't show changes over the course of the war, and trying to draw on the Navigation map is NOT the easiest thing I've tried to do...
We'll work something out.
3. Are you on Silent Running? That will bring all noise making to a halt, including the pumps. Also, bulwark damage is not repairable by your team. If you're leaking, and the pumps can't keep up, sometimes the only option is to come up in depth a little, to lessen the pressure on the leak. Anything external is not repairable from the interior, so you might have to surface to fix certain things, and even then may not be able to do so. Also, several "systems" can't be fixed if they're damaged beyond a certain percentage, like 80% or more.
4. Yes, they do (in theory). Supposedly, you'll get a newer boat sooner, if you score high and / or get promotions. Promotions can also happen just over the course of time. I haven't been promoted very often in the game, since I seem to "die" every career, sometimes not even finishing one patrol... I'm also not real familiar with this aspect of the game, but CapnScurvy or someone else might have more details. Just remember, pinning those medals on your shirt pocket can be hazardous. Do be careful of the "sharipies"...
