 The ship got underway for the west coast on 11 July, and arrived at San Diego, her home port, on 6 August.After operations on the coast of southern California, "Tappahannock" deployed to the Western Pacific (WestPac) on 25 November 1966 and reached Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, en route to service off the Vietnamese coast.On the day before Christmas — after first topping-off with liquid cargo, mail, and provisions — she headed for "Yankee Station" off the coast of Vietnam.