 With the agreement of the Australian government , Leary was succeeded as Commander , Southwest Pacific Force , and Commander , Allied Naval Forces , by Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender on 11 September 1942 . Like his predecessor , he reported to King in the former role , and MacArthur in the latter . Also like Leary , Carpender was not the most senior naval officer in the theatre , as the Royal Australian Navy Chief of the Naval Staff ( CNS ) , Admiral Sir Guy Royle , and the Royal Netherlands Navy ′ s Vice Admiral Conrad Helfrich were both senior to him . However , Royle agreed to serve under Carpenter as Commander , South West Pacific Sea Frontier , which was formed on 16 March 1943 . 
