Potts replaced Dougherty as commander of the 23rd Brigade in Darwin. It had originally been an AIF brigade, composed of volunteers who were able to serve abroad. As the Japanese advanced through 1941 and 1942, its original battalions had been sent to Ambon, Rabaul and Timor. They were replaced with battalions from the Militia, men who had been conscripted, and could only serve on Australian soil unless they volunteered for the AIF. Friction was inevitable, and the new officers were not all talented man-managers.