King has been criticised for this decision, but his defenders argue the United States destroyer fleet was limited (partly because of the sale of 50 old destroyers to Britain earlier in the war), and King claimed it was far more important that destroyers protect Allied troop transports than merchant shipping.
King er blevet kritiseret for denne beslutning, som hans forsvarere begrunder med, at USA's destroyerflåde var af begrænset størrelse (delvis på grund af salget af de 50 gamle destroyere til Storbritannien tidligere i krigen), og King mente desuden, at det var langt vigtigere at lade destroyerne beskytte allierede troppetransporter end fragtskibe.