[Sailor Steve]

Good points. A good commander does take an interest in his men, and in their jobs. In fact a naval officer learns to perform most of the tasks on his ship, and serves as the head of probably every department at on point or another during his career.

But the question was what does the captain actually do. He commands. he doesn't load the torpedoes, or even fire them. He doesn't steer the boat, or man the dive planes. He doesn't turn the valves. He doesn't cook the food. He doesn't man the guns. He knows how to use the sextant, and almost surely double-checks the work of the navigator, who is usually still learning the craft. Sure, he knows how to do pretty much all those things, but it's not his job to actually do them. That's why we still talk about Aces Of The Deep as such a wonder sim. You were the captain, and your job was to get your boat to where it would do the most good and your crew's job was to make sure you were able to do yours.