On 31 January the 2/3rd Independent Company flew into Wau. The company had already seen war service, having been sent to New Caledonia in December 1941 to ensure that the French authority remained at one with the Allied cause and to prevent any enemy incursions. Having fulfilled its task the company returned to Australia on 8 August 1942, where it trained and prepared for its next operation.

The company commander was Major George Warfe. Originally from the 2/6th Battalion, George Warfe had commanded that battalion's Bren gun carrier platoon at Bardia before becoming 2IC of D Company, and later of C Company. After transferring from the infantry he was appointed commander of 2/3rd Independent Company on 27 September 1942, with Captain Peter Tancred as his 2IC. Warfe came with a considerable reputation as a fearless, no nonsense commander. One of his officers later noted, ‘he gave the impression of a deadly king cobra, coiled and ready to strike’.

Warfe soon brought the unit up to the standard he demanded. Ray Roberts remembered Warfe's approach: ‘I can still hear him yelling: I don't like the way you keep camp, I don't like the way you dress, I don't like the way you fall in, in fact I don't like a thing about you. From this day that will all change … and change it did’.