The chain of command for Operation Blue Bat was as follows: the Eisenhower administration at the strategic level; Specified Command, Middle East (SPECCOMME, a 'double-hat' for Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean) at the operational level; the Sixth Fleet, with aircraft carriers , , and , cruisers and , and two destroyer squadrons, including the USS Leary DDR 879, USS Vesole DDR 878, and the USS Wood DD 750. At the end of June, "Essex" and "Boston" were anchored at Piraeus, Greece, while "Des Moines", from which Vice Admiral Charles R. Brown was flying his flag, was at Villefranche-sur-Mer. Land forces included the 2nd Provisional Marine Force (Task Force 62) and the Army Task Force 201 at the tactical level. Each of these three components influenced Operations Plan 215-58 and its execution.