 The ship then got underway on 10 June, transited the Panama Canal on the 17th, and reached Wellington, New Zealand, on 11 July.The vessel was assigned to Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, and became a member of Transport Division C. For Operation Watchtower, Alchiba's Division served under Task Force 62 (South Pacific Amphibious Force), Task Group 62.1, Transport Group X-Ray.On 22 July, she sailed for Korp Island, Fiji Islands, to participate in amphibious landing exercises — the rehearsal for the first American assault landing in the Pacific theater.