The two generals came up with a plan, and Middleton was sent to six Army installations in Tennessee, Colorado, and Washington D.C. with a brief stopover to visit his family in Baton Rouge. Middleton would be taking command of VIII Corps in England, and was sent to the various locations to confuse the enemy about the personnel change. Accompanying him was a sergeant who had been a physical therapist in civilian life, and who would massage Middleton's knees twice a day for the next year. When asked what staff he needed to take with him, Middleton replied that he would keep the staff that was already in place, except that for an aide he would like his old LSU friend, Mack Hornbeak, who had served with him through Sicily and Italy.