Placed in reserve on 1 February 1959, "Kankakee" was reinstated on 1 September 1961 and recommissioned on 29 November at New Orleans, Captain M. O. Slater in command. Assigned to ServRon 4, she departed New Orleans on 9 December, arriving Newport, Rhode Island, on 15 December. After a Caribbean cruise from 8 January to 8 March 1962, she operated along the Atlantic coast. On 24 October, two days after President Kennedy imposed a naval quarantine against the shipment of Russian offensive missiles into Cuba, "Kankakee" departed Newport to furnish logistic support for the powerful fleet swiftly assembled there. Before returning to Newport on 5 December, she refueled 89 ships at sea, pointing out the self-sufficiency and mobility of seapower.