Very helpful instructions, Tessa. I now understand, thanks to your SH3C notes, why I am freighted with more chest ornaments than a 3rd-world dictator with only 200K for this career.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tessa
Admiral Halsey as a 2 and 3 star admiral would frequently take out just his carrier (and not all the escorts) and would be the one in command.
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Not really. A ship's commander is
always master and commander of his/her vessel; the proximity of task force admiral (whether on board or 1000 miles away) makes no command difference except in fiction and Hollywood.
As a Rear Admiral (entirely pre-war) and Vice Admiral (mostly pre-war), Halsey commanded carrier divisions consisting of a carrier(s), escorts and air squadrons. And, in the pre-war Pacific (and for Halsey, that was before December 41), it would not be unusual to send a lightly escorted carrier out for training ops.
If he wanted to observe training operations first-hand, Halsey naturally enough would "make his flag" on the carrier: it would be the most convenient place to see and coordinate the carrier, escorts and air wing working together. But he was not "taking command" of the carrier in any direct operational sense; he was simply moving headquarters from shore to sea.