What do SD division commanders do?

See Adm. Oversteegan.

Mitchell, Esq. wrote:It depends on the time and the task.

It can be very career enhancing to be a 10th fleet division commander as you go all over hell and creation under ADM. Gold Peaks.

It can also be very ho-hum to your career as a BC squadron commander assigned to home fleet because you are not getting into it. (Well, mostly...)

wholf359 wrote:What makes the difference between having an admiral be a SD division commander and a BC squadron commander? From text there both usually rear admirals. Which would be more career enhancing? The in the wall SD division or the independent BC raiding squadron?

Alistair wrote:I suspect most would prefer to get a BC sqaudron- independent command-

The "independent" quotient only goes so far. Yes at junior level it's good to have independence so you can show the higher-ups your ability to think and command for yourself. But once your at flag rank there are more important factors. 1) showing your ability to work under the chain of command and 2) {more importantly} the ability to rub elbows with those higher-ups. something an admiral commanding a division in home fleet can do a lot better than an admiral running BCs around the back woods of the SC can.

MAD-4A wrote:The "independent" quotient only goes so far. Yes at junior level it's good to have independence so you can show the higher-ups your ability to think and command for yourself. But once your at flag rank there are more important factors. 1) showing your ability to work under the chain of command and 2) {more importantly} the ability to rub elbows with those higher-ups. something an admiral commanding a division in home fleet can do a lot better than an admiral running BCs around the back woods of the SC can.

I suspect that it would depend on which navy they were in. If they were in the Young/Janaeck navy of family connections and influence, they would definitely prefer to be close in, where they can show their bosses how great they are. If they were in the Courvosier/White Haven navy, they would prefer to be on the front line, being great, and hopefully getting recognized for it.

Someone did a study and the job that most senior army officers enjoyed the most was running a company-sized unit during their first or second command.

MsBekky wrote:

MAD-4A wrote:The "independent" quotient only goes so far. Yes at junior level it's good to have independence so you can show the higher-ups your ability to think and command for yourself. But once your at flag rank there are more important factors. 1) showing your ability to work under the chain of command and 2) {more importantly} the ability to rub elbows with those higher-ups. something an admiral commanding a division in home fleet can do a lot better than an admiral running BCs around the back woods of the SC can.

I suspect that it would depend on which navy they were in. If they were in the Young/Janaeck navy of family connections and influence, they would definitely prefer to be close in, where they can show their bosses how great they are. If they were in the Courvosier/White Haven navy, they would prefer to be on the front line, being great, and hopefully getting recognized for it.

Well not the "Navy" they're in but the situation that navy is in - during peace time (or intermission lull) you have to be close to your commanders to get noticed for promotion. In a war-time navy you have to be on the front line getting medals (but most {not all} war-time promotions don’t translate back after peace time stand down.)

Same thing battlefield commanders do: Manage one part of any battle under the direction of a superior officer who in theory has a picture of the whole fighting space. At Gettysburg, you had "generals incoming" and managing whole battlefield areas, but it was the colonels fighting with the troops.

Space wise, it's more along the lines of Hamish Alexander and D'Orville each using their formations ruthlessly to pin the Havenite SD's into an inescapable box, and White Haven or D'Orville asking the screen commander, "can you cut them off while we try to close the box?", or Honor directing Henke how use her BatCruRon ships at Solon. Once she told Henke what she needed, it was up to the rear admiral -- and therefore "division commander" as to how to do it, freeing Honor and co. to keep the whole fighting force working together.