He was the nephew of four star Admiral Harris Laning.
Combat Information Center role
Laning was involved in the development of the U.S. naval Combat Information Center (CIC) during World War II. The idea was taken "specifically, consciously, and directly" from the spaceship Directrix in the Lensman novels of E. E. Smith, Ph.D.,[4][5] and influenced by the works of his friend, collaborator, and Naval Academy classmate, fellow Missourian Robert Heinlein.[6][7] However, for bureaucratic reasons, the source of the idea was not disclosed.[5]
