The destroyer arrived at Pearl Harbor on 11 November and was overhauled during December 1943. On 16 January 1944, she sortied with the Fast Carrier Task Force (then called TF 58, while it was part of 5th Fleet; at other times it was 3rd Fleet's TF 38) to support air strikes against the Marshall Islands which began on 29 January. On 17 February and 18 February, the carriers launched raids against Truk, the powerful Japanese base in the Caroline Islands, before the task force returned to Pearl Harbor. On 10 March, "Stembel" headed for the South Pacific. She joined a convoy of tank landing ships (LSTs) in the Solomon Islands and escorted it to Aitape, New Guinea. She bombarded the landing area there prior to the landing on 22 April and then supported the troops ashore until 25 April. The destroyer escorted empty LSTs to Cape Sudest and returned to Aitape with a resupply convoy.