"Joel Shepherd" wrote in message
ink.net...
Ogden Johnson III wrote:
The only flag officers to carry the rank/title of Commodore were
the retreads called back in WWII to command convoys. "And you want
to call *us* Commodores?"

I'm a little confused (but what else is new?).

Didn't Arleigh Burke carry the rank of Commodore when he was
Mitscher's Chief of Staff?

I thought he had commanded a DesRon prior to that, but like I said, I
may be confused.


You're quite right. Capt Burke was a "title" commodore as ComDesRon 23 in
1943 and '44. He was assigned as chief of staff to CTF 58 (Mitscher) in
March 1944.

Meanwhile the actual rank of commodore was being revived. There were quite
a number of captains serving in low-flag-level posts, but Ernest King
worried that creating a bunch of new RAdms would clog up the post-war ranks.
He proposed that the grade of commodore be reinstated for these officers,
but as a temporary rank that would be phased out after the war.

FDR approved, but said that he preferred that this traditional rank be given
only to line commanders.

King also proposed that the wartime commodores be appointed directly by the
President, but the Senate refused to
give up their confirmation power, even for a temporary rank.

In April 1943 the rank of commodore was reinstated. The lone broad stripe
and one star insignia (which, though unused, were still in the Uniform Regs)
were worn again, and the one-star broad pennant reappeared in the signal
books. Despite FDR's original wishes, there were a number of medical,
supply and civil engineer corps commodores.

The billet of CoS to a VAdm became a commodore slot in mid-1944, and Burke
was promoted accordingly. At the same time King formalized the practice of
pairing an aviator commander with a black shoe CoS and vice versa. Thus
Spruance's trusted CoS Capt Carl Moore was relieved by RAdm Arthur Davis,
while Commodores Valentine Schaeffer and Tom Jeter (recent carrier captains)
were assigned to VAdms Kinkaid and Lee respectively.

Burke, like most other wartime commodores, reverted to captain when the rank
was phased out post-war. There were few, if any, promotions from Como to
RAdm.

--Justin