When General Marshall resisted this line of action (as well as who would command the operation), King stated the Navy (and Marines) would then carry out the operation by themselves, and instructed Admiral Nimitz to proceed with preliminary planning.
Da general Marshall gjorde modstand mod denne handling (samt mod den som skulle lede operationen), hævdede King at flåden (og marinekorpset) i såfald selv ville gennemføre operationen, og gav Admiral Nimitz ordre til at fortsætte den indledende planlægning.