>orders were sent via motorcycle courier and signal lamps. They weren't actually sent that way, they were gamed that way. In the sort of way someone fights a d

>orders were sent via motorcycle courier and signal lamps. They weren't actually sent that way, they were gamed that way. In the sort of way someone fights a dragon in D&D. Van Riper (what a name!) essentially glitched the simulation. We've seen how mass organization by carrier and signal lamps works in real battle, not all that well. The tactic relied on launch massive salvos of cruise missiles at the same time to overwhelm US defenses. I think it is important that Van Riper showed how that tactic could be used, but it is far harder to pull something like that off. People make too much of the "rest and make them follow a script." It's not that the Navy doesn't learn from mistakes, but they wanted to test tactics against realistic enemies.