Following a period of brief training in the months following her commissioning, "Lunga Point" sailed for the Pacific to ferry United States Army bombers to New Guinea and to bring damaged P-47 Thunderbolts back to the United States. Upon return, she became a unit of Carrier Division 29 (CarDiv 29), a component of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid's 7th Fleet, alongside her fellow sister ships , , , and . She departed San Diego, California on 16 October to participate in the Leyte Gulf operations, touching Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Kossol Roads en route. From 13 to 22 November, she provided air cover for transports and surface units engaged in the campaign. Relieved on the 23rd, she sailed to Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, to prepare for the Luzon campaign.