diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx
index d87488b9..bbf7dadc 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/CommandHQ/CommandHqDetail.tsx
@@ -230,6 +230,23 @@ function NewCommander({
   // updates nothing and says nothing. Same root cause as the navigate below.
   const { setCategory } = useCommandHqCommanderActions(chat.claudeSessionId ?? '');
   const [filed, setFiled] = useState(false);
+
+  /*
+    Has this commander been started — which is NOT the same as "has it any messages".
+  
+    `messages.length === 0` was standing in for it, and it lies in exactly the situation that matters.
+    Lose the socket mid-turn and the messages come back empty, so the setup pane and its Start button
+    reappear on a commander that is already running; pressing Start then sends the opening brief a
+    SECOND time, and the agent answers a question nobody asked twice. Seen tonight, after a restart I
+    ran while a commander was live.
+  
+    A latch, not a derived value. Once started, always started — the point is to survive the moment the
+    live state goes empty, so anything recomputed from that state is the bug rather than the fix.
+  */
+  const [started, setStarted] = useState(false);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (chat.messages.length > 0 || chat.claudeSessionId || chat.isGenerating) setStarted(true);
+  }, [chat.messages.length, chat.claudeSessionId, chat.isGenerating]);
   /*
     Refresh the grid when the first turn ends.
   
@@ -313,7 +330,7 @@ function NewCommander({
         So the scroller is here, where the height is actually constrained, and the composer below keeps
         `shrink-0` so it stays reachable at the bottom whatever the zoom.
       */}
-      {chat.messages.length === 0 && (
+      {!started && (
         <div className="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col overflow-y-auto">
           <CommanderSetup name={name} onName={setName} cwd={cwd} onPickDirectory={() => setPickerOpen(true)} />
           <StartCommanderButton
@@ -345,11 +362,9 @@ function NewCommander({
         context="command-hq"
         {...(cwd ? { cwd: { path: cwd } } : {})}
         disabled={
-          chat.messages.length === 0 && !ready
-            ? { reason: !name.trim() ? 'Name it first…' : 'Choose a working directory first…' }
-            : false
+          !started && !ready ? { reason: !name.trim() ? 'Name it first…' : 'Choose a working directory first…' } : false
         }
-        className={chat.messages.length === 0 ? 'shrink-0' : 'min-h-0 flex-1'}
+        className={!started ? 'shrink-0' : 'min-h-0 flex-1'}
       />
       <DirPickerModal open={pickerOpen} onClose={() => setPickerOpen(false)} onSelect={setCwd} />
     </div>