Neutrality Patrol
After two months of upkeep and inspection at Norfolk, "Jacob Jones" sailed for Charleston on 4 April 1940 to join the Neutrality Patrol. Organized in September 1939 as a response to the war in Europe, the Neutrality Patrol was ordered to track and report the movements of any warlike operations of belligerents in the waters of the Western Hemisphere. The basic purpose of the patrol "was to emphasize the readiness of the United States Navy to defend the Western Hemisphere." In June, after two months of duty with the Neutrality Patrol, "Jacob Jones" returned to training midshipmen.