 Following shakedown training along the U.S. West Coast, the transport departed San Francisco, on 23 November, bound for the southwestern Pacific Ocean.En route (7 December) she visited Nouméa, New Caledonia, where she disembarked marines and took on board passengers headed for Guadalcanal, arriving 10 December.From that island, "Admiral W. L. Capps" carried another group of passengers to Espiritu Santo.