As had been his intention, Tarbuck's early service was on destroyers, first as engineer and radio officer on the and then as chief engineer on the from 1922 to 1924 The ship sailed to the Black Sea, where Tarbuck observed the Russian Civil War first hand. He served in succession as torpedo officer on the destroyer , as a communications officer on the cruiser and as gunnery officer on the destroyer . During this cruise in the Caribbean, he served ashore with the United States occupation of Nicaragua.