"I have been told that I should increase my skill at chess tactics and theory before blindly launching into timed games."
That is complete nonsense. I wonder who would say anything like that. If you want to play fast chess, just play it. Okay, maybe not bullet, that will be just silly.
"Is there any benefit to playing fast games if one does not fully understand the tactics involved?"
No, there isn't. What benefit?
Blitz games have their place if and only if you review the games afterwards (the reasons are in the article cited below).
Slow games (30+ minutes) are essential because you need that much time to sit and think "what is my best move here".
Dan Heisman goes so far as to say that time controls between 10-25 minutes can actually hinder development by causing bad habits. I encourage you to read the following Novice Nook of his: https://web.archive.org/web/20140627030447/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman115.pdf
It's an interesting article, because he does list the benefits of playing blitz, and of playing slow, but then explains why intermediate controls hinder growth.
Thank you everyone for making this a wonderful forum for all.