Why is it when discussing great military minds it's never Admirals?

Usually I'd say good job Toby, but on this one I say really?

You being a veteran I think you'd want to defend Curtis LeMay and the persecuted and forgotten leaders.

:off soapbox:

But they have abandoned his doctrine. Which I somewhat agree with, but when a fatwa has been levied and it specifically details they make no discern between uniformed and non uniformed persons. I think it's time to restart the LeMay tactic.

I'm getting sore doing soap box jumps

I still want to know how a 7 foot man fit in a sub?

I'm sure glad they cut down the 5 year commitment though

Because people don't like semen, unless they need them.

Halsey acted stupidly

That is a question my wife and I have discussed many times. After 20 years in the Navy, we still haven't come up with an answer. Maybe people pay more attention to land warfare vs sea or air? Who knows. Ego?

Since you mentioned USAF, a great one to talk about is Robin Olds. If you haven't read the book on him, I very strongly suggest it.

LINK

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I think the carpet bombing doctrine why is an interesting idea for its time. I'd say the effectiveness of it as far as war fighting goes is very very suspect.

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It is costly and does not really eliminate targets, but it shows a willingness to engage in complete destruction. I think that is effective on a psyche of people. Cut the places and will to live, cut the fight. I also know it can actually solidify a people too.

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naval tactics and strategy are not well understood by most people.

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Or appealing. They are to me, but the common man couldn't care less because there's nothing encountered in a lifetime that's relatable..

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We always give credit to Ike, Schwartzkopf, Bradley, etc. but people never mention Nimitz, Rickover, Halsley, and others.

Also we never discuss great Air Force leaders either other than LeMay, who is generally forgotten and his tactics are now considered beneath us.

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Who is "We?"

Students of history recognize great leaders from every branch of service. The general citizenry recognize the people they see in the media and the 5 minutes of military history they get in school - which understandably focuses on large land operations.

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We=General public, the major media, and persons not experts in military history.

Most people only hear of generals and do not discuss naval commanders.

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That's primarily because most of them couldn't tell you the date 9/11 happened even if they didn't have to name the year. I'd bet if you pulled a random 100 people off the street and asked them who were the following:

George Washington
US Grant
John Pershing
Dwight Eisenhower
Douglas MacArthur
Norman Schwarzkopf

You'd be lucky if 25% of them could tell you that three of them had been US presidents. I'd bet fewer than than 5 would know they'd been army generals much less theater commanders or higher in a major US war.

Now, with than in mind, when you consider that most of our wars have been overwhelmingly land engagements (PTO in WW2 the clear exception) it should come as no surprise that the few recognized names are those of land commanders.

Oh, and as to the original list, Rickover can't really be called a great military mind. He was a scientific visionary for sure but the man never held a combat command in wartime.