"Gainard"s eighth tour with the 6th Fleet (August 1960-February 1961) was interrupted by 6 weeks of combat readiness operations with the Middle East forces in the Indian Ocean. During her ninth Mediterranean tour (February–August 1962), she transited the Suez Canal for five days of battle rehearsals with units of the British and Iranian Navies and many days of realistic training in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Other vital tasks included schoolship duties for the Fleet Sonar School at Key West, Florida; participation in Operation "Mercy" with carriers and in rendering assistance to thousands of flood-stricken victims of Hurricane Carla off the Texas coast during September–October 1961; gunnery schoolship duties for the Fleet at Norfolk; and service as a unit of the Cuban Contingency Task Groups during the Cuban Missile Crisis of November–December 1962.