"Mustin" sortied with TF 52 on 10 November for the assault on Makin in the Gilberts 10 days later, then returned to the west coast for rehearsal amphibious operations off San Pedro, California. She arrived in Lahaina Roads, Maui on 21 January 1944 to stage for the Marshall Islands Campaign, and on the 30th bombarded enemy positions on Wotje. The next day, she screened cruisers pounding Kwajalein, and on 1 February joined in firing at the atoll. For the next 2 weeks, she escorted various task groups around Kwajalein, then operated off newly captured Eniwetok until returning to Pearl Harbor on 3 March.