Comment

摘要

It has been an interesting two months since our last issue of Warship World. One news report that garnered a great deal of press and social media attention was the story about the 'reassignment' of Captain Nick Cooke-Priest, who, since last October, had been in command of HMS Queen Elizabeth. According to the BBC, a Royal Navy spokesman said: "In light of the ongoing investigation, as a precautionary measure, to protect the individual and the ship's company, the Royal Navy has decided that Captain Cooke-Priest will not be at sea with HMS Queen Elizabeth!' From various press reports we learned that Royal Navy warships and their captains are loaned a car for use on official duties but Captain Cooke-Priest had used the Ford Galaxy for 'personal' journeys, including to and from work. An investigation into the use of the car found that he had made an "error of judgment," and therefore was reassigned to another position. A Royal Navy spokesman said: "We can confirm Captain Nick Cooke-Priest has been reassigned to a new role. We can only say that management action is ongoing and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further." Some observers are questioning why the Royal Navy is dealing with this breach of conduct so severely, particularly in view of Captain Cooke-Priest's long-standing and distinguished career, and suggesting that perhaps a 'stiff warning' would surely be sufficient.As much as we may feel that the decision to remove him from his command of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is heavy-handed - we also know that it is precisely because he is the captain of Britain's biggest aircraft carrier that he has to have a clean slate and be beyond reproach, otherwise how can he discipline those on his 'own' ship and lead the way?