Editing Chief of Naval Operations (section)

===Interwar period (1919–1939)===
The CNO's office faced no significant changes in authority during the interwar period, largely due to the Navy secretaries opting to keep executive authority within their own office. Innovations during this period included encouraging coordination in war planning process, and compliance with the [[Washington Naval Treaty]]{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=73}}{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=83}} while still keeping to the shipbuilding plan authorized by the [[Naval Act of 1916]].{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=57}} and implementing the concept of [[naval aviation]] into naval doctrine.

====CNO Pratt, relationship with the General Board and Army-Navy relations====
[[File:William Veazie Pratt NH 77482.jpg|thumb|upright|CNO Pratt (right) with Admiral [[Frank Herman Schofield|Frank H. Schofield]] (left) aboard the ''Tennessee-class'' battleship {{USS|California|BB-44}} in February 1931]]
[[William V. Pratt]] became the fifth Chief of Naval Operations on 17 September 1930, after the resignation of [[Charles F. Hughes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/chiefs-of-naval-operations/admiral-william-v--pratt.html|title=Admiral William V. Pratt, Fifth Chief of Naval Operations (September 17, 1930–June 30, 1933)|website=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref> He had previously served as assistant chief of naval operations under CNO Benson.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=28}} A premier naval policymaker and supporter of arms control under the Washington Naval Treaty, Pratt, despite otherwise good relations, clashed with President [[Herbert Hoover]] over building up naval force strength to treaty levels,{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=93}} with Hoover favoring restrictions in spending due to financial difficulties caused by the [[Great Depression]].{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=94}} Under Pratt, such a "treaty system" was needed to maintain a compliant peacetime navy.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=93}}

Pratt opposed centralized management of the Navy, and encouraged diversity of opinion between the offices of the Navy secretary, CNO and the Navy's General Board.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=99}} To this effect, Pratt removed the CNO as an [[Ex officio member|''ex officio'' member]] of the General Board,{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=99}} concerned that the office's association with the Board could hamper diversities of opinion between the former and counterparts within the offices of the Navy secretary and OPNAV.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=99}} Pratt's vision of a less powerful CNO also clashed with Representative [[Carl Vinson]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], chair of the [[United States House Committee on Armed Services|House Naval Affairs Committee]] from 1931 to 1947, a proponent of centralizing power within OPNAV.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=100}} Vinson deliberately delayed many of his planned reorganization proposals until Pratt's replacement by [[William H. Standley]] to avoid the unnecessary delays that would otherwise have happened with Pratt.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=100}}

Pratt also enjoyed a good working relationship with [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army chief of staff]] [[Douglas MacArthur]], and negotiated several key agreements with him over coordinating their services' radio communications networks, mutual interests in coastal defense, and authority over Army and Navy aviation.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=101}}

====CNO Standley and the Vinson-Trammell act====
[[File:Faces last shot. Washington, D.C., Dec. 29. Admiral William H. Standley faced his last barrage today. A salva from the guns of a battery of cameramen. He retires as Chief of Naval Operations LCCN2016871034.tif|thumb|upright|[[William H. Standley]] (sitting) poses for his last photograph as Chief of Naval Operations on the day of his retirement, 29 December 1936.]]
[[William H. Standley]], who succeeded Pratt in 1933, had a weaker relationship with President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] than Pratt enjoyed with Hoover.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=100}} Often in direct conflict with Navy secretary [[Claude A. Swanson]] and assistant secretary [[Henry L. Roosevelt]], Standley's hostility to the latter was described as "poisonous".{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=100}}

Conversely, Standley successfully improved relations with Congress, streamlining communications between the Department of the Navy and the naval oversight committees by appointing the first naval legislative liaisons, the highest-ranked of which reported to the [[Judge Advocate General of the Navy|judge advocate general]].{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=109}} Standley also worked with Representative Vinson to pass the Vinson-Trammell Act, considered by Standley to be his most important achievement as CNO. The Act authorized the President:

{{blockquote|“to suspend” construction of the ships authorized by the law “''as may be necessary to bring the naval armament of the United States within the limitation so agreed upon, except that such suspension shall not apply to vessels actually under construction on the date of the passage of this act.''”{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=106}}}}

This effectively provided security for all Navy vessels under construction; even if new shipbuilding projects could not be initiated, shipbuilders with new classes under construction could not legally be obliged to cease operations, allowing the Navy to prepare for World War II without breaking potential limits from future arms control conferences.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=106}} The Act also granted the CNO "soft oversight power" of the naval bureaus which nominally lay with the secretary of the Navy,{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=107}} as Standley gradually inserted OPNAV into the ship design process.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=107}} Under Standley, the "treaty system" created by Pratt was abandoned.{{sfn|Hone|Utz|p=94}}

====CNO Leahy====
[[File:Ad. Leahy & Ad. Standley LCCN2016871031.jpg|thumb|upright|CNO Leahy and outgoing CNO Standley shake hands after Leahy is sworn in on 2 January 1937.]]
Outgoing commander, [[Battle Fleet|Battle Force]] William D. Leahy succeeded Standley as CNO on 2 January 1937.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leahy Will Direct Naval Operations |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 11, 1936 |page=53 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/11/11/88083939.html?pageNumber=53 |access-date=May 14, 2022}}</ref> Leahy's close personal friendship with President Roosevelt since his days as [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy|Navy assistant secretary]], as well as good relationships with Representative Vinson and Secretary Swanson{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=239-240}} brought him to the forefront of potential candidates for the post.{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=258}} Unlike Standley, who tried to dominate the bureaus, Leahy preferred to let the bureau chiefs function autonomously as per convention, with the CNO acting as a ''[[primus inter pares]]''.{{sfn|O'Brien|2019|p=109}}{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=90}} Leahy's views of the CNO's authority led to clashes with his predecessor; Standley even attempted to block Leahy from being assigned a fleet command in retaliation.{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=239-240}} Leahy, on his part, continued Standley's efforts to insert the CNO into the ship design process.{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=258}}

Swanson's ill health and assistant secretary Henry Roosevelt's death on 22 February 1936 gave Leahy unprecedented influence.<ref>{{cite news |title=Henry Roosevelt is Dead in Capital |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 23, 1936 |page=1 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/02/23/87914167.html?pageNumber=1 |access-date=May 14, 2022}}</ref> Leahy had private lunches with the President frequently; during his tenure as CNO, Roosevelt had 52 meetings with him, compared with 12 with his Army counterpart, [[General (United States)|General]] [[Malin Craig]], none of which were private lunches.

Leahy retired from the Navy on 1 August 1939 to become [[Governor of Puerto Rico]], a month before the [[invasion of Poland]].{{sfn|Borneman|2012|p=280}}