---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: (26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’…"
description: "\"“(26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’ skills to the neglect of more advanced, more lateral ‘secondary’ abilities, the former being easier to teach..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon-156_quote_26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-sk_1485986.jpg"
---

#  (26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’ skills to the…

![“(26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’ skills to the neglect of more advanced, more lateral ‘secondary’ abilities, the former being easier to teach, easier to measure, and more agreeable to superiors. If it is in the interests of the country that our military” quote by Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon-156_quote_26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-sk_1485986.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon-156_quote_26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-sk_1485986.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon-156_quote_26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-sk_1485986.jpg)

> ““(26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’ skills to the neglect of more advanced, more lateral ‘secondary’ abilities, the former being easier to teach, easier to measure, and more agreeable to superiors. If it is in the interests of the country that our military””

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Peacetime training focuses on basic skills, neglecting advanced lateral abilities that are harder to teach and measure.

**In simple terms:** Basic training is prioritized over complex skills.

Key Takeaway

Balance basic and advanced training.

Themes

education military training skill development

Mood

reflective critical

Type

analysis strategic

When to use this quote

- boot camps
- officer schools
- strategic planning

Key Concepts

primary vs secondary skills training methodology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can advanced abilities be better integrated?
- What are the risks of over‑emphasizing basics?

A Different Perspective

Complex skills may be undervalued despite strategic importance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [It can be said that there are four basic and primary things that the mass of people in a society wish for: to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-can-be-said-that-there-are-four-basic-and-primary-things-that-the/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [There's no magic bullet to end poverty in the world. But if you could, the closest thing to it would be basic primary education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kielburger/there-s-no-magic-bullet-to-end-poverty-in-the-world-but-if-you-could/)

[Craig Kielburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kielburger/)

> [“God knows the war sucks, but he sees no great appeal in these tepid peacetime lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/god-knows-the-war-sucks-but-he-sees-no-great-appeal-in-these-tepid/)

[Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/)

> [“It was the price of fighting a war during peacetime”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-w-lemoine/it-was-the-price-of-fighting-a-war-during-peacetime/)

C.W. Lemoine

> [I really think that if I had met Picasso during peacetime, nothing would have happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-gilot/i-really-think-that-if-i-had-met-picasso-during-peacetime-nothing/)

[Francoise Gilot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-gilot/)

> [Congratulations on being a veteran who served only in peacetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-on-being-a-veteran-who-served-only-in-peacetime/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“In peacetime some sort of introduction is generally required to make a person's acquaintance; in war a small eatable will perform the same office.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/in-peacetime-some-sort-of-introduction-is-generally-required-to-make/)

[Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/)

## More by Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon

> [“steam-tactics saga illustrates that (4) Rationalism, unlike empiricism, tends to assume an accretion of vested interests.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/steam-tactics-saga-illustrates-that-4-rationalism-unlike-empiricism/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“The one lesson to be learned is the necessity for every officer to cultivate belief in his own judgment, so as not to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/the-one-lesson-to-be-learned-is-the-necessity-for-every-officer-to/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“Many of the more ghastly and idiotic aspects of the Great War were made possible by the coincidence of mass-production and the social religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/many-of-the-more-ghastly-and-idiotic-aspects-of-the-great-war-were/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“The literal meaning of ‘doctrine’ is “what is taught within a group as its corporate beliefs, principles or faith”52 – although “what is learnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/the-literal-meaning-of-doctrine-is-what-is-taught-within-a-group-as/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“(20) There is an inverse law between robust doctrine and the need for signalling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/20-there-is-an-inverse-law-between-robust-doctrine-and-the-need-for/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“that (11) Purveyors of technical systems will seek to define performance criteria and trials conditions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/that-11-purveyors-of-technical-systems-will-seek-to-define/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“By the close of the Victorian age Britain’s officer classes were increasingly the inheritors, rather than the winners, of empire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/by-the-close-of-the-victorian-age-britain-s-officer-classes-were/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“can therefore attribute the many reporting failures at Jutland to a cocktail of factors, including: (a) lack of initiative, and ‘seniority knows best’; (b)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/can-therefore-attribute-the-many-reporting-failures-at-jutland-to-a/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“Some of them are blinding glimpses of the obvious (BGOs), several overlap, and I make no claims of discovery. The fundamental proposition – and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/some-of-them-are-blinding-glimpses-of-the-obvious-bgos-several/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“My comments are directed at the system which was responsible for their poor performance, not at the officers concerned. I do not recall ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/my-comments-are-directed-at-the-system-which-was-responsible-for/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“(19) Signalling promotes the centralisation of authority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/19-signalling-promotes-the-centralisation-of-authority/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“Signals’ prioritising mechanisms become dislocated in times of overload.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/signals-prioritising-mechanisms-become-dislocated-in-times-of-overload/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“(21) Heavy signalling, like copious orders, is symptomatic of doctrinal deficiency,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/21-heavy-signalling-like-copious-orders-is-symptomatic-of-doctrinal/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“(24) Properly disseminated doctrine offers both the cheapest and the most secure command-and-control method yet devised by man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/24-properly-disseminated-doctrine-offers-both-the-cheapest-and-the/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

> [“(10) Innovations adopted in accordance with peacetime doctrine, may lock the Fleet into both systems and doctrine which will fail the empirical test of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/10-innovations-adopted-in-accordance-with-peacetime-doctrine-may-lock/)

[Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

[Explore all 42 Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/)

## More Basic Primary quotes

> [It can be said that there are four basic and primary things that the mass of people in a society wish for: to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-can-be-said-that-there-are-four-basic-and-primary-things-that-the/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [There's no magic bullet to end poverty in the world. But if you could, the closest thing to it would be basic primary education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kielburger/there-s-no-magic-bullet-to-end-poverty-in-the-world-but-if-you-could/)

[Craig Kielburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kielburger/)

Browse all 3 Basic Primary quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“(26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’ skills to the neglect of more advanced, more lateral ‘secondary’ abilities, the former being easier to teach, easier to measure, and more agreeable to superiors. If it is in the interests of the country that our military”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-skills-to-the-neglect-of-more/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Basic Primary"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-skills-to-the-neglect-of-more/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon-156_quote_26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-sk_1485986.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon-156_quote_26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-sk_1485986.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon-156_quote_26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-sk_1485986.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“(26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’ skills to the neglect of more advanced, more lateral ‘secondary’…” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“(26) Peacetime highlights basic ‘primary’ skills...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-skills-to-the-neglect-of-more/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/26-peacetime-highlights-basic-primary-skills-to-the-neglect-of-more/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```