By May 26, 1913, Reed was next on the Torpedo Flotilla tender , as executive officer and navigator, and he came to command it into June 1915. "Iris" along with five torpedo boats from the Pacific Fleet Torpedo Flotilla, were ordered to the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez following the Tampico Affair by May 4, 1914. They patrolled the vicinity of La Paz and Mazatlán, Mexico, during the ongoing civil unrest there. During May and June 1914, "Iris" evacuated American citizen refugees from Mazatlan and Acapulco, including the American consul, Hon. Clement S. Edwards.