 During the Vietnam war USS "Excel" was involved in Operation Market Time which interdicted arms smuggling from North Vietnam to the many rivers and estuaries of South Vietnam by everything that could float, now considered the most successful naval operation of the Vietnam war, although it led to the vast improvement of the Ho Chi Min trail.USS "Excel" was sent to the reserve fleet in the 1970s and was sent to its new home port, Treasure Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay.Rear Admiral Albert T. Church III served as captain of USS "Excel" during the late 1970s when he was a lieutenant commander.