Could Lee reach San Bernardino Strait in time?

The proposed force would lack Halsey's Iowa-class battleships and several cruisers from the paper organization, but could still approximate its battleship and destroyer strength. The carrier groups moving north would not remain close escorts, although nearby American aviation could respond once battle began. The timing of the first message left enough hours for ships from Task Groups 38.3 and 38.4 to gather and reach the chokepoint. The movement was physically possible if Lee acted on the earlier message and secured destroyers from Kinkaid as well as battleships from the neighboring group.