Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Bayan yaƙin, Spruance ya zama shugaban ma'aikata ga Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Babban Kwamandan, Amurka Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) da Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA). A cikin Halsey ya ci gaba da kasancewa, Kinkaid ya zama kwamandan Task Force 16, wanda aka gina a kusa da mai ɗaukar hoto, ko da yake ba shi da jirgin sama, kuma kwarewarsa tare da masu ɗaukar hoto ya iyakance ga umurnin allon su a yakin Coral Sea da yakin Midway. A farkon watan Yuli, Nimitz ya sanar da Kinkaid game da shirye-shiryen sauka a tsibirin Solomon
, mai suna Operation Watchtower. Don wannan aikin, Kinkaid's Task Force 16 zai kasance daya daga cikin rundunonin aiki uku a karkashin jagorancin Fletcher. Don kare babban jirginsa, "Enterprise", Kinkaid yana da jirgin yaƙi, mai nauyi, mai tsaron jirgin sama, da masu hallaka biyar. Ƙarin sabon jirgin yaƙi da ashirin &lt;a href="5%26quot%3B/38%20caliber%20gun"&gt;/38 caliber dual-purpose guns&lt;/a&gt; ya ƙarfafa tsaron tsaron jirgin sama na Task Force 16.