With operations on Mindoro and Luzon well underway, the destroyer's crew received two weeks of rest while the fast carriers geared up for their next mission, a major raid on the Japanese home islands. On 10 February, after the carrier force departed Ulithi, "Benham" and 14 other destroyers formed a scouting and picket line about 35 miles (65 km) ahead of the carriers. Intended to destroy enemy surface pickets and provide early warning for the carriers, the destroyers screened the fast carriers during their air strikes on Honshū on 16 and 17 February. During these operations, the destroyers vectored in combat air patrol (CAP) against enemy "snoopers", helping to splash eight. The task force turned south the next day and began strikes on Iwo Jima in support of the amphibious landings on the 19th. After a second strike on Honshū on 25 and 26 February, the warships returned to Ulithi at the beginning of March.