To command at sea is primarily to exercise legitimate authority conferred by a decree of the President of the Republic, as head of the armed services. This authority lies largely outside common law, as it extends as far as ordering the supreme sacrifice.

One does not command a warship as such, one commands its crew. And whatever the quality of its equipment, a ship is never better than its crew. A knowledge of men therefore comes essentially before that of equipment. Under the same name, the crew and its ship form an indivisible unit, which constitutes a socio-technical complex and a ‘self-contained institution’, to use a sociological term. The ‘skipper’ is the man who embodies this entity, and gives it its own personality, like no other. The crew identifies with its commander, takes on his qualities but also sometimes his faults. To the outside world, he also represents the ship.

The value of a warship is measured to some extent by the yardstick of this acceptance, this fusion of the commander, the crew and their ship, most particularly in the most difficult situations: those which justify the existence of such a fighting machine. All the risks taken by the commander are necessarily collective and assumed, whether they like it or not, by the whole crew without exception. The saying ‘We’re all in the same boat’: may seem rather colourful or quaint, but it is very realistic and identifies a unique circumstance compared with other military situations. This means that the greatest confidence must exist between the skipper and his men. ‘The only master on board after God’ holds their destiny in his hands. His personal responsibility for everything which happens on board is total and permanent. This is an exceptional moral transfer, from the entire crew to one man.