Theemile wrote:That time was when the RMN had strategic peers, but no strategic threats. The threats were of keeping the peace and keeping minor players from making power plays which disturbed the larger balance. The RMN was a economic and diplomatic power house and could use that weight to diplomatically solve most issues, and when not, 100+ BCs and 3 squadrons of Capital Ships were threats few wouldn't recognize. The Mission of the Day: Protect the Wormhole, Protect the Homeworlds, protect the commerce, and keep good, friendly ties with the near peers.
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Janachek was such a figure - his thinking was ossified and he surrounded himself with like minded individuals, questioning any thing antithema to his core concepts and quickly rejecting anything (or anyone) who proved him wrong.
In the whole, that was actually good. It was good for opposing thoughts to debate the virtues of expansion versus maintaining the status quo. In 1844, that definitely was a valid question. The problem, as you said, was not being able to adapt to change, plus the corruption that happened right under his nose.
Two slightly younger officers than he did have a battle of wills going back to kindergarten: Hamish Alexander and Sonja Hemphill. Both had views that they clung to for a long time and both had begun surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals. I'd say that, despite how she was portrayed initially, Sonja had the more open mind, because she was under the tutelage of Admiral Adcock and being forced to hide some of what she knew. Hamish came to see the light when it smacked in him in the face, in the form of Honor Harrington. But see it he did, as the end of House of Steel tells us:
"And yes, thank you, Sonja."