Talk:Task Force 16
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Spruance was the Junior TF Commander at Midway
[edit]Recognising the article is a stub...
The wording for makes it appear that then-RADM Spruance, as Commander, Task Force 16, had the command responsibility for both TF off Midway. This is factually incorrect. Then-RADM Frank Jack Fletcher was the overall commander at Midway, as both the senior Flag Officer at sea, and as the commander designated by the C-in-C Pacific Fleet.
Also, we really ought to make clear that Halsey didn't have a bad case of acne or eczema---he had shingles, which is also called "chickenpox", and which in adults is frequently debilitating. Haley was declared medically unfit for sea by the Fleet Medical Officer---he wasn't suffering from anxiety or overwork; he didn't have a rash; he had an actual, bone fide disease.
Spruance not only didn't "win" Midway, he badly handled his CTF. Were it not for the veteran ship's company and Carrier Air Group of Enterprise (CV-6), Spruance's contribution would have amounted to appalling losses due to operational accidents---ditchings due to fuel starvation. This was a direct result of his inexperience in fight operations, of Mitscher's inexperience in carrier combat operations, and of Spruance being—of necessity—saddled with Halsey's staff. Unable to sort through the disputations, Spruance made a grievous error. One he never made again.
Task Force 16 Citation
[edit]Enterprise, Hornet, 16 other ships and their 10,000 sailors, airmen and Marines, who took part in the Doolittle raid in April 1942, were officially recognized for their daring exploit 53 years later, on 15 May 1995. In a ceremony at the Pentagon they were presented the Task Force 16 Citation by the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. John H. Dalton. Traumatic (talk) 14:53, 6 May 2023 (UTC)