On George Washington's Birthday, the warship steamed out of Norfolk bound for the Pacific and her first combat duty as a high speed transport. After a short stay in San Diego, she continued on westward and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 26 March. The fast transport then conducted specialized training at Maui with Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT's). The mission of such teams was to destroy obstacles on landing beaches, and APD's such as "Barber" delivered these teams to the areas four or five days before the actual invasion. Just two days after receiving word of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 12 April death, she sailed via Eniwetok for Ulithi.