Copper-Bottomed Staff Officers

Title really covers two very separate questions (but hopefully caught attention). First question for the assembled wisdom is: does a Staff Academy have any use once it has trained-up a sufficiency of General Staffs? (i.e is there any other use for a staff-officer, or can a Staff Academy research anything?)

Second question is: has anyone noticed any actual benefit from coppering their ships? I know the rules say that ships so treated have some benefits (vs. repairs etc.) But are they significant enough to be noticeable in actual play?

Staff Colleges can be used to look into doctrine to see if there are ways to improve your military tactics, ie fight in 3 ranks or 4, The direct attack or fire before you go in . All such things can be gleaned from the Staff College, not saying it will help you create an unbeatable army but they can also analyse when you loose. You also need Staff colleges to create Headquarters units. maybe you can also introduce a staff Officers course for the army which needs to be passed prior to further promotion say from Major to Colonel. It would help improve the Officer Corps Professionalism, plus it would spread the army doctrine throughout your forces. Albeit the danger is some of the richer Nobility may get a bit upset that they cannot buy there way to the top.

Copper Bottoms on ships should help cut down on drag from barnacles & the like, also protect from worms eating into the wood. Therefore your ships should be quicker in the chase or evasion manoeuvres. Not sure if it will retard Sickness levels as not 100% sure if that is more to do with the crews than the state of the ships themselves.

Historically the copper was found to react with the salt water to cause slight electrolysis which corroded the iron nails holding the hull together, so the life of the ship wasn't actually prolonged too much.

Just to add a note you need staff colleges to train staff for general staff headquarters, which is particularly useful for the larger empires.

Thanks again, good deep answers - as usual. Now see there's plenty to keep my Staff Academy busy for the foreseeable future. With coppering, like some of the other more 'opaque' aspects of the game (like EH and doctors/lawyers etc.) we just have to take it on trust that we are garnering specific benefits (which I am quite happy to do!)

Hope & Belief are two very dangerous things so I hope you believe you are truthfully doing the right thing.

My understanding aligns with J Flower. The main value of the copper is that because stuff doesn't build up on the hull your boats are faster, so better in chase and evasion. I'd imagine the effect can have an influence in tactical matters, but not likely to effect strategic movement.

I am implementing the same changes for naval forces that are attempted with armies regarding staff officers. We shall see if there is any vast improvement in command and control. The naval staff college will also be studying revised signal flag systems and coding.

appointing one staff officer per land unit is reputed to improve command and control.

And the ideas (and the questions they provoke) keep on coming! I understood from the phrasing of the rules that the "General Staff" covered both army and navy units. Is there a known/probable/possible advantage in having a separate naval General Staff equivalent?

And it seems the general opinion that coppering has no great effect on e.g. liners being used as transport ships (rather than for fighting)?

General staff improve your units reaction to orders, for example if England were to issue orders for units in the Americas it would take a month or more for those orders to be auctioned. Where as with a staff college trained general staff the response will be quicker and more effective you can improve naval reaction by building naval dipatch couriers. Hope this helps