Upon completing a month-long standdown period, the ship commenced an extended availability at the Jacksonville Shipyards, Jacksonville, Florida, which lasted through the end of the year and the first three months of 1973. The ship then carried out post-availability sea trials. The discrepancies which the testing uncovered were corrected by 9 April. The following day, the ocean escort steamed south to Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, and joined the surface missile fleet in gunfire support exercises conducted at the Atlantic Fleet weapons range, Culebra Island.