Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 7 The Fifth Fleet (Part 2)
Soon, the orderly brought in two cups of brewed tea, but it was very hot, so he could only find a stool, put down the cups and go out.
"It's a bit chaotic here, but as you can see, we are seriously short-handed!"
Liao Hanxiang smiled awkwardly, "Although the Fifth Fleet has been established for more than a year, more than 1,500 officers and soldiers have retired in a year, but less than 1,000 officers and soldiers are willing to join us.
Especially for young officers, almost no one would actively apply to join the Fifth Fleet. Those assigned to them are those who are unwanted by other fleets or departments.
This time, I can't care so much. After all, I have some friendship with Old Nie, so I forced you to come here."
"It's actually pretty good. At least this is what an army looks like!"
Tan Renhao laughed. When he walked into the "building", he indeed did not find many people. Even Liao Hanxiang did not have a secretary, but only an orderly to assist him in his work.
"You wrote the article 'A Brief Discussion on Naval Aviation Operations', right?"
Liao Hanxiang took out a cigarette, gestured to Tan Renhao, and then lit it himself. "I have read it in detail several times. Although there are some technical loopholes and flaws, it is a very good paper. What surprised me is that this paper was not written by a student of the Flight Academy, but by a student of the Imperial Naval Academy. Have you flown a plane before?"
"No, I've only been on a plane twice, and the last time was when I came here today!"
Tan Renhao seemed a little embarrassed. He did not tell Liao Hanxiang that the last time was ten years ago when he and Lei Shaoqing took a small cargo plane. As a result, they were both beaten up when they returned.
"Really? Then I think this is even more weird!"
Liao Hanxiang burst into laughter. He has been dealing with airplanes since he was 30 years old.
"To be honest, I never thought that the person who could write a paper on aviation tactics, especially bombing tactics in naval warfare, was a naval lieutenant who couldn't even fly a plane. So, how did you learn so much about aviation warfare?"
"actually……"
Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment, "There are many books on this subject in the library. Also, I like to read aviation magazines. We can also easily see internal reports and papers on various subjects at school."
Liao Hanxiang nodded slightly.
"Okay, where do you want to start?"
Tan Renhao did not rush to speak, as he was already familiar with the promotion path for naval officers.
More than 60% of the naval lieutenant officers will be assigned to various fleets.
If they follow this development path, these second lieutenants will first be assigned to small warships as first mates, or assigned to a destroyer as navigator, chief engineer, or gunnery officer according to their major major. If they perform well within two years (basically there will be no problems), they will be promoted to first mate, and then return to the Officers' Academy, or other advanced training colleges, spend half a year mastering other relevant knowledge, return to the fleet at the same time as being promoted to lieutenant, and then work as first mate for another two years, a maximum of two and a half years, before being promoted to captain.
This step is extremely critical. If you can be promoted to captain on a destroyer, then you will have the opportunity to continue to be promoted.
After working in this position for three to five years, you will return to college for further studies for another six months or a year.
If you further your studies for half a year, you can return to the fleet and serve as the first mate on a cruiser, and eventually become the captain of a cruiser. Maybe you can become the first mate on a battleship before the age of 45, but this path is basically the end.
If the further study is for one year, then after returning to the fleet, you will most likely be kept in the fleet headquarters, receive a year of practical training, and then be directly transferred to the battleship as the first mate. In this way, it is very likely that you will become the captain of a battleship before the age of 45.
At this time, he was already a colonel, and this was also the only way to become a general of the Imperial Navy.
More than 80% of the Imperial Navy's generals (Liao Hanxiang was an exception) rose from the position of battleship captain.
There is another more special promotion channel, that is, after being assigned to the fleet, you will stay directly in the fleet staff, start as a grassroots staff officer, and be transferred between several staff departments such as the operations staff, communications staff, and logistics staff. Within five years, you will become an excellent staff officer. You can even directly skip the lieutenant and be promoted to captain.
However, the final destination of this path will most likely be the Chief of Fleet Staff, or the Operations Staff (equivalent to the Deputy Chief of Staff). The highest rank is Brigadier General (this opportunity is rare) and there is almost no chance of becoming a fleet commander.
This strict personnel promotion system was formed over hundreds of years in the Imperial Navy. Over the past hundreds of years, it has ensured that the most outstanding talents in the Imperial Navy can successfully become generals of the Imperial Navy, while those who are mediocre will never be able to ascend to the throne of general.
However, this also created a serious problem, namely the conservative thinking of the Imperial Navy and the strict hierarchical concept within the Imperial Navy.
Seeing that Tan Renhao didn't speak, Liao Hanxiang smiled and said, "Originally, I thought it would be better to keep you in the General Staff, but I won't joke about other people's future. If you..."
"Commander, I am willing to stay in the General Staff!"
Tan Renhao didn't even know why he said this, because this opportunity determined that his chance of becoming an admiral of the Imperial Navy was immediately reduced by a hundred times, and even if he was lucky, he could only be a brigadier general at most.
"Have you decided?"
Liao Hanxiang's tone at this time was almost the same as when Nie Renfeng asked this question.
Tan Renhao nodded firmly.
"I've thought about it. Maybe I'm not very suited to living in a confined space!"
Liao Hanxiang immediately laughed.
"Young man, you have a strong will, and you can do anything for your ideals. I believe you will not regret this choice."
Tan Renhao smiled a little awkwardly. He had never regretted a decision he had made.
"Okay, tomorrow you go directly to the Operations Staff Headquarters, and Colonel Ji Xiaobin will arrange a suitable position for you!"
Liao Hanxiang patted his thigh and picked up the teacup. "Also, although it's a bit shabby, you're still welcome to join the big family of the Fifth Fleet!"
"Thank you, Commander!"
Tan Renhao immediately picked up the teacup, and his new life finally began.
