"chestatee" was returned to the navy and placed in reserve, out of commission, in august 1948. reactivated, she was assigned to military sea transportation service (msts) in march 1952 and operated by a civilian crew until may 1954 when she was again placed in reserve. a second tour of service with msts began in april 1956 and continued until 8 november 1956 when "chestatee" transferred to the suisun bay branch of the national defense reserve fleet.