 General MacArthur and Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, the commander of Allied Naval Forces in the South West Pacific Area, would be on hand to make the decision but otherwise they delegated command to Rear Admiral William Fechteler, the commander of Amphibious Group 8 of Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey's VII Amphibious Force.To accommodate them, the light cruiser was ordered to sea.At the time, she was in Brisbane, with over 300 of her crew on shore leave.