My regards Digby. I came across something that struck me as rather poignant considering the rather onerous tutorials in artillery et al you have been of late in receipt of. You for one can certainly speak to from recent experience the relevance of the education qualification of the gunner when receiving incoming.

In 1796 in a letter to the Directory on the subject of artillery and engineers, Napoleon exploded.." The Corps of Engineers and the Artillery are full of the most ridiculous fiddle -faddle. They never consider the good of the service... the Junior officers in the Ministry sprinkle Holy Water (make empty promises) and our country suffers... I have received only 40 horse artillerymen who have not seen combat and are without horses. Send me therefore 6 companies, and do not trust the execution of that matter to the Officers of the Artillery Section, since it takes them 10 days to expedite an order and they would be stupid enough to draw them from Holland with the result they would not arrive until October..."
Memoires Militiares Boulart, Bon. Paris...