George C. Kenney relieved Jacob E. Fickel in command of Fourth Air Force and later that same year replaced former Chief of the Air Corps George H. Brett as Southwest Pacific air commander.
To se je zgodilo v času, ko je general Dwight D. Eisenhower sestavljal svojo poveljstvo za operacijo Overlord, tako da je Arnold odobril Eisenhowerjevo prošnjo, da zamenja Eakerja s svojima poveljnikoma: Spaatzom in Doolitlom.