Ahoy!...and a question

Hi All,

What a great forum and community. Tonnage of information for sure ;-).

New to SH3 here and I am really loving the game. Just completed my first patrol in a type VIIB/1940 and no crash dives yet - but I know the pain is coming!

One thing I find a bit challenging in the game is crew management. Any tips on keeping my Sub-Lieutenants at their stations consistently? Short of remembering their names and their default posts it has been difficult to keep them at the same station. They eventually need sleep and I invariably forget where they were originally stationed once rested. I assume that keeping them at a single station as much as possible will result in faster "experience" points? or does this not matter?

Some other questions:

When awarding medals - is it better to spread them among the crew or stack one particular person up?

I can't seem to get the hydrophone working and the sonar officer rarely reports any sound contacts, even when I know there are vessels in the vicinity. Will these come with a later sub or as a sub upgrade?

Finally, is there an easier way to see the flags of the other ships at a distance? Even at 6x zoom on the periscope I sometimes have a hard time figuring out if they are neutral or foe?

thanks for any advice.