In September 1942, Blamey decided to send the 6th Division to Papua to help stem the Japanese advance along the Kokoda Trail. He visited Lieutenant General Sydney Rowell, commander of New Guinea Force and I Corps, in Port Moresby and asked him who he would prefer to command the division. Rowell selected Vasey, so Vasey became commander of the 6th Division, and was replaced as DCGS by Berryman. Later that month, General Douglas MacArthur and Prime Minister John Curtin ordered Blamey to take personal command of New Guinea Force. After a falling out, Blamey relieved first Rowell, replacing him with Herring, and then Major General Arthur "Tubby" Allen of the 7th Division. On 27 October, Vasey flew up to Myola to relieve Allen.