She transited the Panama Canal on 9 October, stopped at Pearl Harbor on 24 October, and arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, on 10 November. That same day, she headed for the Tonkin Gulf in company with and . On 21 November, she relieved on "Traffic Cop" station off the coast of North Vietnam. Operation "Traffic Cop", soon to be redesignated Operation Sea Dragon, was an ongoing patrol to interdict waterborne logistics to the insurgents in South Vietnam.