"I marveled that Halsey could remember the personal lives of all 2,200 sailors. He never forgot anything, or so it seemed. Halsey had a different approach with the officers. If he saw a khaki-uniformed officer, he saluted and said, "Welcome aboard." However, he confronted white-uniformed officers, asking them, "You're in whites. Why is that?" If they offered a reasonable excuse, Halsey grunted and let them pass. If they said something like, "I thought that was the proper uniform, sir," he'd snarl, "This is a working ship! Go back and change!" I instantly liked his command style. He got right to the point and noticed everything. I used to think that admirals were horrible people and they should be avoided like crazy dogs. But Halsey had the habit of appearing everywhere, and he looked out for us pilots. Once he watched while a SBD was being launched by the hydraulic catapult on the hangar deck. During the launch, the catapult malfunctioned. The pilot received no "jolt" but stopped his plane before it reached the edge of the ship. The next day the catapult had been removed for repairs under Halsey's orders."