On 8 August, Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher withdrew the aircraft carriers that had provided air cover. Turner decided the amphibious force must also leave the next day. He summoned Crutchley and Vandegrift (commander of the troops on Guadalcanal) to an evening conference on his flagship. Crutchley took Australia to the amphibious anchorage, leaving five cruisers and six destroyers on guard to the west.
