HMS Fearless

Dauntless wrote:now it is possible she spent time as XO elsewhere, but it would be unusual to go from XO on a hyper capable ship to back being tac officer, so for "the Right" officers bupers will skip parts of the normal progression.

Several mitigating factors for Caplan there. She was up for promotion after Hexapuma's return, she's experienced in handling the Mk 16 and has experience operating in Talbott. All of which is supremely valuable for a Roland squadron heading into the Cluster.

I can't see grayson doing things much different but Abigail is a special case and jumping her from tac officer even of a saganami or BC to command of a cruiser say would probably have some of the conservities in the Keys having fits

Causing grayson conservatives to have fits and thus shortening their lifespans is probably somewhere near the top of Benjamin Mayhews' to-do-list.

Dauntless wrote:now a Roland like what she is Tac officer on is a destroyer and maybe a possibility when she hits LT comm but given that she was grayson's first Midshipwoman and that she is a steadholder daughter grayson Bupers is going to have to be able to show that dotted every I and crossed every T of the nesscary steps or the conservite keys will howl even more then usual.

The RMN usually sends people through the Commanding Officer's course and the Crusher first before giving them a hyper-capable command (Honor was one of the very few exceptions to this). Also see above re: Grayson conservatives and how much the current Grayson Administration is willing to accommodate them; that said, Ms Hearns' first command should probably be a Grayson one, else this whole exercise loses its value for the Grayson reformation thing.

Theemile wrote:I don’t have my list of Honor’s accomplishments on me, but I believe after an XO stint, she did a stint as a tac officer on a larger ship. So it’s not unheard of for an officer to bounce back and forth between specialist and commands positions prior to command.

She went from SATO to ATO on HMS Manticore, then to command of an LAC, to XO on two CLs and a CA, to TO of HMS Basilisk, and then to command of Hawkwing.

3 XO tours and then back to TO, even if a SD seems strange to me. not doubting you and of course this was the pre-war royal navy.

still, seems odd to do that. after all a good XO tour is normally the proof that you are ready for a ship of your own, providing of course the dread words "not recommend for independent command" don't appear somewhere in your review.

now as to the point about causing the diehards to have fits. Yes Benjamin has no problems doing it but as grayson's most senior locally born woman, Abigail does come under greater scrutiny, and not just from the troublemakers in the keys, then is really warranted and like so many examples in today's world she has to be better then a man would be and unless she echo's Honor by taking over for dead/disabled captain grayson bupers simply can't afford to do anything that might show favouritism. Abigail herself won't stand for it!, let alone her father.

Dauntless wrote:3 XO tours and then back to TO, even if a SD seems strange to me. not doubting you and of course this was the pre-war royal navy.

still, seems odd to do that. after all a good XO tour is normally the proof that you are ready for a ship of your own, providing of course the dread words "not recommend for independent command" don't appear somewhere in your review.

It's probably attributable to North Hollow's influence.

excellent point. especially after her actions as XO on broadsword helping to rescue survivors of the avalanche embarrassed one of his friends, or was he a distant cousin?

Dauntless wrote: Abigail does come under greater scrutiny, and not just from the troublemakers in the keys, then is really warranted and like so many examples in today's world she has to be better then a man would be

Fortunatly being twice as good as a man is easy for Abagail.

Dauntless wrote:Yes Benjamin has no problems doing it but as grayson's most senior locally born woman, Abigail does come under greater scrutiny, and not just from the troublemakers in the keys, then is really warranted and like so many examples in today's world she has to be better then a man would be and unless she echo's Honor by taking over for dead/disabled captain grayson bupers simply can't afford to do anything that might show favouritism. Abigail herself won't stand for it!, let alone her father.

Interestingly, Abigail should have sufficient seniority and experience to get her first ship at about the same time as Rachel Mayhew and Hipper are ready for a middy cruise. Wouldn't Abigail's first command (a Grayson destroyer or light cruiser) and Rachel's middy cruise being combined cause a few apoplectic fits in the keys?

I like the way you think Harold.

after RFC finishes the arc and the current safehold arc, an anthology of stories that take us from the end of the last book and the start of the next arc would be cool.

especially if it has Rachel & Hipper's middy cruise in it.

Weird Harold wrote:

Dauntless wrote:Yes Benjamin has no problems doing it but as grayson's most senior locally born woman, Abigail does come under greater scrutiny, and not just from the troublemakers in the keys, then is really warranted and like so many examples in today's world she has to be better then a man would be and unless she echo's Honor by taking over for dead/disabled captain grayson bupers simply can't afford to do anything that might show favouritism. Abigail herself won't stand for it!, let alone her father.

Interestingly, Abigail should have sufficient seniority and experience to get her first ship at about the same time as Rachel Mayhew and Hipper are ready for a middy cruise. Wouldn't Abigail's first command (a Grayson destroyer or light cruiser) and Rachel's middy cruise being combined cause a few apoplectic fits in the keys?

Nope Rachel and Hipper will be departing for there middie cruise within the next six months.

saber964 wrote:

Weird Harold wrote:Interestingly, Abigail should have sufficient seniority and experience to get her first ship at about the same time as Rachel Mayhew and Hipper are ready for a middy cruise. Wouldn't Abigail's first command (a Grayson destroyer or light cruiser) and Rachel's middy cruise being combined cause a few apoplectic fits in the keys?

Nope Rachel and Hipper will be departing for there middie cruise within the next six months.

I haven't double checked the timing, but that would mean Saganami Island's curriculum has been cut way more than the text indicates. The Honorverse Wiki says Rachel entered the academy in 1920 PD and A Rising Thunder ends July 1922 and Shadow of Freedom ends in Aug 1922. Rachel and Hipper should have at least a year and possible two before their middy cruise. (Depends on if peace with Haven pushes things back to four years.)

Even so, Abigail isn't far from being ready for a destroyer of her own, so another six months might be enough.

I would think that without ships to be crewed there would be no point in accelerating the curriculum any further, in fact I would expect the curriculum to be returned to its previous longer time period.