Corlett was then transferred to Fort Ord, California, to organize, train, and equip the 9th Amphibious Corps, including the 7th Infantry Division and other special troops who later distinguished themselves in many battles in the South Pacific. He received orders to take command of the 7th Infantry Division and report to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz at Pearl Harbor, where Nimitz informed him that he was to be in command of the army forces that would capture Kwajalein Island on the southern part of Kwajalein Atoll, a major Japanese naval-air base and part of the Marshall Islands, 2,350 miles southwest of Honolulu. Kwajalein, the world's largest atoll, was defended by 5,000 troops, who were ordered not to surrender.