"Howard D. Crow" was assigned to Galveston, Texas, as reserve training ship in September 1958. In this capacity she conducted 2-week training cruises for reservists, and at the same time maintained the ship in a high state of readiness for any emergency. Her periodic training cruises took the escort vessel to Key West and the Caribbean. In August 1961, however, the Berlin situation worsened, and "Howard D. Crow" was one of several reserve training ships returned to active service to increase the nation's readiness. She conducted refresher training at Guantanamo Bay and operated with the fleet in the Atlantic and Caribbean until August 1962.