"Wichita" then steamed to Efate in the New Hebrides for a training period. She then departed on 7 April, bound for Pearl Harbor and arriving there a week later. On 18 April, she steamed out of Pearl Harbor for Adak, Alaska, again flying Giffen's flag, for Task Group 52.10. In early May, "Wichita" was assigned to the amphibious force tasked with liberating the Aleutian Islands from Japanese control. She served as the flagship of the northern covering force, along with the cruisers "Louisville" and and four destroyers. On 6 July, "Wichita", three other cruisers, and four destroyers bombarded Japanese positions on the island of Kiska. The bombardment convinced the Japanese that the Americans intended to invade the island in the near future; they therefore planned an evacuation by July.