Transferred to the operational control of Commandant, 13th Naval District, "Vega" departed San Francisco for Tacoma, Washington, on 9 April. From then until 9 January 1944, the cargo vessel operated out of Tacoma and Seattle, carrying vital construction materials and supporting American operations against the Japanese invaders in the Aleutian Islands. On one run, "Vega" delivered a cargo of naval stores and ammunition, as well as some 20 mm anti-aircraft guns for the garrison at Dutch Harbor — only a few days before the devastating bombardment of that base by a Japanese light carrier strike force in early June 1942.