In the years that preceded World War I, "Jenkins", based at Newport, Rhode Island, trained with the Atlantic Fleet, sailing to the Caribbean for winter maneuvers operating along the East Coast in summer. In addition, she sailed to Tampico, Mexico in mid-April 1914 to support the American occupation of Veracruz. On 1 October 1916 she was in a collision with the lighter "Trilby" at Sandwich, Massachusetts that resulted in damage to the lighter.