 On 1 July 1955 "LST-802" was redesignated USS "Hamilton County" (LST-802), then operated off the California coast from August, 1955 to August, 1956.After returning to the Western Pacific in mid-October, 1956 "Hamilton County" was assigned as the flagship of Commander, Mine Squadron 3, (who concurrently served as Commander Task Group 70.5 and Commander Mine flotilla 1), U.S. Pacific Fleet.Homeported in Sasebo, Japan she served as a command vessel for numerous combined mine sweeping training exercises with minesweepers of the Japanese, Korean, Chinese Nationalist, Filipino and Thai Navies.