After taking part in the bombardment of Nauru Island 8 December 1943 "Izard" retired to Havannah Harbor, Efate. Here she trained and rehearsed for the fleet's next target—the Marshall Islands. "Izard" sortied from Funafuti Harbor, Ellice Island, 23 January 1944 with Rear Admiral Forrest Sherman's Carrier Task Group to provide air cover for the assault and capture of Kwajalein. At 04:40 29 January the carriers launched their first strikes toward Kwajalein. By that afternoon the fleet had delivered many devastating blows on the enemy. By 4 February "Izard" had entered Majuro Atoll, recently captured from the Japanese, and dropped anchor. Here she joined Admiral Raymond Spruance's Truk Striking Force and Admiral Marc Mitscher's Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 58/38) for strikes on Truk (17–18 February 1944). The first strike was launched at 06:42 17 February and after 2 days the carrier planes had destroyed auxiliary cruisers "Aikoku Maru" and "Eiyosumi Maru"; destroyer "Fumizuki"; submarine tenders "Rio de Janeiro Maru" and "Heian Maru"; aircraft ferry "Fujikawa Maru", 6 tankers and 17 more marus; total tonnage about 200,000. Planes from "Enterprise" (CV-6) also sunk destroyers "Oite" and "Agano". On the first day of the strikes while Admiral Mitscher's planes were at work, Admiral Spruance's group, including "Izard", conducted a round-the-atoll search to catch escaping vessels. They sunk light cruiser "Katori", destroyer "Maikaze", and sub chaser "SC-24". After 18 February Truk lost its usefulness as a fleet anchorage or advanced naval base for the Japanese. In addition, the 250 to 275 planes destroyed or damaged was a severe blow to the Japanese air force.