"Oakland" sortied with TG 58.1 on 7 March, bound for Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides. The group skirted the Solomons and covered the occupation of Emirau Island, north of New Britain, on the 20th. On the 27th, the task group swept on to the western Carolines. Heavy air attacks greeted the carriers, but "Oakland" and her partners in the screen fought them off before any damage was incurred. They pounded Palau on 30 March, Yap on the 31st and Woleai on 1 April, before returning to Majuro on 6 April.