On 9 December, "Oberleutnant" Rudolf Resch confined Marseille to his room for five days. Marseille was punished for calling a fellow pilot a "goofy pig" (). As punishment for "insubordination"—rumoured to be his penchant for American jazz music, womanising and an overt "playboy" lifestyle—and inability to fly as a wingman, Steinhoff transferred Marseille to "Jagdgeschwader 27" on 24 December 1940. His new "Gruppenkommandeur", Eduard Neumann, later recalled, "His hair was too long and he brought with him a list of disciplinary punishments as long as your arm. He was tempestuous, temperamental and unruly. Thirty years later, he would have been called a playboy." Nevertheless, Neumann quickly recognised Marseille's potential as a pilot. He stated in an interview: "Marseille could only be one of two, either a disciplinary problem or a great fighter pilot." "Jagdgeschwader" 27 was soon relocated to North Africa.