Arriving at Pearl Harbor 2 October 1943 from Boston, "Erben" joined the 5th Fleet and trained in the Hawaiian Islands, on 1 November. She rescued a downed aviator during exercises with an aircraft carrier. She sailed from Pearl Harbor 8 November, rendezvoused with a carrier task group on 15 November, and screened it during preinvasion air attacks on the Gilbert Islands, several times rescuing aviators whose planes had crashed or run out of fuel. As the invasion waves of Marines were landed on Tarawa on 20 November, "Erben" continued to screen the carriers launching supporting strikes, providing protection with her antiaircraft fire when 13 Japanese torpedo planes attacked late in the afternoon. She again effectively fired against Japanese planes that attacked the task group as it retired from strikes in the Marshall Islands on 4 December.