[Klaustrophobia]

there is no rank of commodore in the US navy.  i've not ever heard of it being used as a courtesy/staff title.  there are captains that aren't the CO on carriers.  the reactor officer and the XO usually are.  to my knowledge, they are also addressed as "captain" (except when the RO is an asshole and pisses off the civilian chief test engineers )

[General Battuta]

Oh.

So basically, the Admiral orders the fleet and the flagship around, and the Captain of the flagship carries out the Admiral's orders?

EDIT: Would this extend to retail?

This extends to real life

[NGTM-1R]

This extends to real life

It's supposed to. In the carrier age it usually does, with a flag plot separate from the bridge. But historically not every admiral or group commander has resisted the temptation.

[crazy_dave]

"Second and Third Fleets are out of our control. If we could just draw them back from Steele - save their strength for - "

This is what is damaging the UEF militarily the most right now (well this and Steele ): the discord between 2nd and 3rd fleet commands versus 1st Fleet command and the Council. The UEF are already outmanned and outgunned. Now, far worse, never mind coordinating battle plans and fleet assets with each other, the fleet commands seem to be barely on speaking terms. Delenda Est might not have been quite as bad if 1st Fleet had been able to provide back-up - depending on the circumstances might've even been a victory (doubtful but possible). Also Calder and Netreba might be more circumspect about engaging Steele if they understood the Elder's and Byrne's end game plan (or still might not since we don't know what it is yet, but I think it's implied that neither do the other admirals).

[Phantom Hoover]

If 1fleet had been on standby for DE, Steele would have tried a completely different plan with that taken into account.

[Gray113]

That plan had been carefully prepared and had taken weeks to get all the pieces in place. Most of Steele's assets were committed and he had not left much room for maneuver so I think that if first fleet had acted to save the Wargods then there is a good chance it would have succeeded. Not in gaining the victory but in buying enough time for the task force to withdraw.

Of course if this would have gone wrong then First fleet would have taken losses which was probably why Byrne would not have acted even if they were on standby but a more aggressive commander would have.

[Phantom Hoover]

If there was any actual chance of Byrne intervening, Steele would have known.

[MatthTheGeek]

"Second and Third Fleets are out of our control. If we could just draw them back from Steele - save their strength for - "

[...]Delenda Est might not have been quite as bad if 1st Fleet had been able to provide back-up - depending on the circumstances might've even been a victory (doubtful but possible).

I think the point of that quote was more "if 2nd and 3rd hadn't tried to bring the fight to the Tevs, tried to outsmart Steele, they wouldn't have lost the Wargods like this for nothing."

The Elders, Byrne and the Beis would rather Netreba and Calder adopted a similar defensive posture to Byrne. Because rushing in into Steele's traps isn't going to buy time for the Project's deployment.

[Gray113]

If they stuck to Byrne's strategy then they would never have captured the Agincourt and the secret project would never be finished in time. I think that is probably going to be more important to the wars outcome than the Wargods.

[crazy_dave]

"Second and Third Fleets are out of our control. If we could just draw them back from Steele - save their strength for - "

[...]Delenda Est might not have been quite as bad if 1st Fleet had been able to provide back-up - depending on the circumstances might've even been a victory (doubtful but possible).

I think the point of that quote was more "if 2nd and 3rd hadn't tried to bring the fight to the Tevs, tried to outsmart Steele, they wouldn't have lost the Wargods like this for nothing."

The Elders, Byrne and the Beis would rather Netreba and Calder adopted a similar defensive posture to Byrne. Because rushing in into Steele's traps isn't going to buy time for the Project's deployment.

As Grey113 said though, the defensive posture wouldn't have gotten them the Agincourt ... and also if the Elders, Byrne, etc ... want Netreba and Calder to adopt a more defensive posture, they should explain why. Because from the POV of Netreba and Calder the first fleet's position is just as suicidal since Steele would completely control the tempo and timing of the battles. As he showed at Jupiter and the attacks on Earth, he doesn't need traps to ravage the fleets. Therefore, it would be reasonable to explain that there is a plan, but to enact they need to simply delay Steele, they don't need a victory to force loss of political will to prosecute the war in the GTA. My reading, perhaps mistaken, is that Calder and Netreba aren't even aware that there is an end game scenario devised by the Elders much less what it entails.

However, I would argue that even with delay as the main goal, the most effective delay would still be to use part of their fleet offensively while part of it is defensive. The offensive part would keep Steele from completely dominating the tempo, while the defensive part covers the vital assets and is left in reserve. They might not be as offensive as they are/were trying to score a major victory, but having 2nd and 3rd fleet assets engaging Steele (or tying him down but seriously engaging his subordinates) while 1st fleet acts in reserve is a good plan. This is sort of what's happening anyway, but more than that they need these fleets to be coordinated together to have a chance.