Returning from Tarawa, Radford was reassigned as chief of staff to Towers, who was Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet. He assisted in planning upcoming operations, including Operation Flintlock, the invasion of the Marshall Islands. He had hoped to return to combat duty at the end of this assignment, but in March 1944 he was ordered to Washington, D.C. and appointed as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. He assumed this new duty on 1 April, a role which was primarily administrative in nature. His duties included establishing a new integrated system for aircraft maintenance, supply, and retirement, for which he was appointed the head of a board to study aircraft wear and tear. After six months in this duty, Radford was returned to the Pacific theater by Admiral Ernest J. King, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and Commander in Chief, United States Fleet.