Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, Commander 7th Fleet and responsible for protecting the landing forces, assumed that Halsey's "Battle Plan" was a deployment order and that Task Force 34 (TF 34) was actually guarding San Bernardino Strait.
Viceadmiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, chef for den amerikanske 7. flåde og ansvarlig for beskyttelsen af landgangsstyrken, antog at Halseys "slagplan" var en indsatsordre og at Task Force 34 (TF 34) bevogtede San Bernardino.