Kennedy's new executive officer was Lt. (jg) Robert Lee "Dusty" Rhoads. Rhoads later stated he was impressed that so many men from "PT-109" followed Kennedy over to his new command. Kennedy's loss of the "109" was not viewed as a shortcoming by his crew, many of whom had been on other craft that had sunk or been run aground. Two other gunboats were completed, in addition to the "59". The plan was to attach one of the three new gunboats to each PT boat section to add firepower and range, though the extra armor and guns reduced the speed of the gunboats.