9. Rickover violated the chain of command to advocate for atomic propulsion in submarines
In the United States Navy, the chain of command was (and is) sacrosanct. When one had a request, one went to his direct supervisor. If necessary, that request was sent up the chain for consideration, assuming it was not rejected out of hand. Rejected requests were dead issues. Going around one’s immediate boss was one of the worst infractions of military courtesy and discipline. Rickover encountered resistance to his views regarding reactor-powered submarines and was recalled to the Bureau of Ships, assigned an advisory role in an ill-defined office. Rather than attempting to persuade his immediate supervisors of the benefits of nuclear submarines Rickover simply side-stepped around them. His violation of the sacred chain of command enraged some of his superiors. It also drew the attention of the Chief of Naval Operations, Chester Nimitz.
Nimitz, a submariner himself, agreed with Rickover. So did several influential members of Congress, carefully groomed by Captain Rickover. Nimitz convinced the Secretary of the Navy, John L. Sullivan, to authorize the development of a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, and Captain Rickover was assigned as the director of the Nuclear Power Division, within the Bureau of Ships. In 1949, Rickover was assigned to the Atomic Energy Commission as the Director of the Naval Reactors Branch, a role he held concurrently with his position in the Bureau of Ships. Through both positions, Rickover led the Navy’s effort to develop a nuclear reactor suitable for marine use, and a submarine capable of carrying it and utilizing the power it produced. By 1950, work on an entirely new submarine was well underway, with Rickover the driving force behind the project.