On the afternoon of 27 June, Stafford joined "La Prade" and off the Virginia Capes to form Task Unit (TU) 29.6.6 which shaped a course for the Panama Canal. The three ships transited the canal on 3 July, and "Stafford" moored at Balboa. The following day, Independence Day 1944, she reported to the Pacific Fleet for duty and sailed for San Diego. Following repairs at the Destroyer Repair Base there, she got underway with "La Prade" for Hawaii and reached Pearl Harbor on 25 July. For almost a month, she engaged in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training in the Hawaiian Islands.