フランク・J・フレッチャー
Underway at 0817 on 16 February, "Anderson" stood out to sea, joining up with Task Force 17 (TF17), consisting of "Yorktown", , "Louisville", "Hammann", "Sims", and "Walke", under Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, later that afternoon. The next two weeks found the "Yorktown" task force working its way toward the southwest Pacific. On 6 March 1942, TF 17 rendezvoused with TF 11 under Vice Admiral Wilson Brown, to raid the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul.