 Poett was given a secretary to help him handle his new responsibilities, many of which were secret in nature; they included developing the Orders of Battle for oversea theatres such as the Middle East, and the allocation of space on convoys travelling to these theatres.At one point Poett had to defend a paper he had written, about the Middle East Order of Battle, to the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was unhappy with the large number of administrative units assigned to the theatre.Poett continued his work throughout 1941, and in late December he travelled to Washington D.C. in the United States of America alongside an officer from the Plans Directorate, with orders to assist the Anglo-American planning of the coming conflict.