US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

He thus made the
follows:
LAND AND WATER
BASED AIRCRAFT
TF 63
McCain
CACTUS Bound 293
basic naval organization for WATCHTOWER as
ORGANIZATION TOP ECHELON
WATCHTOWER OPERATION
COMSOPAC
Ghormley
r
EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
TF 61
Fletcher
AIR SUPPORT FORCES AMPHIBIOUS FORCES
TG 61.1
TG 61.2
Noyes
Turner
COMMAND PROBLEMS TF 61 AND TF 62
The command problem of the Expeditionary Force (TF 61) and its
integral carrier task forces was complicated by the fact that Rear Admiral
Leigh Noyes, Class of 1906, was the senior carrier task force commander,
while Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, a classmate just three numbers
his junior on the Navy List, was the far more war-experienced, having
commanded naval task forces at the Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway.
Noyes commanded Task Force 18 built around the Wap, while Fletcher
commanded Task Force 16 centered on the Enter@e. On 10 May 1942, and
21 June 1942, CINCPAC recommended to COMINCH that Fletcher be
promoted to Vice Admiral. On 28 June he repeated this recommendation and
added that Fletcher should be given the Expeditionary Force Command.
CINCPAC renewed his recommendation personally on 4 July at the San
Francisco Conference. As late as 14 July Admiral Nimitz, with the carrier
task groups all at sea and headed for a rendezvous north of the Fijis, was
still trying to get approval for the actual promotion or for his request that
“Rear Admiral F. J. Fletcher be authorized to wear the uniform and assume
the rank of Vice Admiral at once. ”
The first big hurdle to get by was Admiral King. After this, the promotion
had to be approved by the President and by the Senate. On 15 July 1942,
CINCPAC was notified that this had been accomplished and the promotion