Chief of Naval Operations: Difference between revisions

Outgoing commander, [[Battle Fleet|Battle Force]] William D. Leahy succeeded Standley as CNO on 2 January 1937.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leahy Will Direct Naval Operations |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 11, 1936 |page=53 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/11/11/88083939.html?pageNumber=53 |access-date=May 14, 2022}}</ref> Leahy's close personal friendship with President Roosevelt since his days as [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy|Navy assistant secretary]], as well as good relationships with Representative Vinson and Secretary Swanson{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=239-240}} brought him to the forefront of potential candidates for the post.{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=258}} Unlike Standley, who tried to dominate the bureaus, Leahy preferred to let the bureau chiefs function autonomously as per convention, with the CNO acting as a ''[[primus inter pares]]''.{{sfn|O'Brien|2019|p=109}}{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=90}} Leahy's views of the CNO's authority led to clashes with his predecessor; Standley even attempted to block Leahy from being assigned a fleet command in retaliation.{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=239-240}} Leahy, on his part, continued Standley's efforts to insert the CNO into the ship design process.{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=258}}

Swanson's ill health and assistant secretary Henry Roosevelt's death on 22 February 1936 gave Leahy unprecedented influence.<ref>{{cite news |title=Henry Roosevelt is Dead in Capital |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 23, 1936 |page=1 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/02/23/87914167.html?pageNumber=1 |access-date=May 14, 2022}}</ref> Leahy had private lunches with the President frequently; during his tenure as CNO, Roosevelt had 52 meetings with him, compared with 12 with his Army counterpart, [[General (United States)|General]] [[Malin Craig]], none of which were private lunches.