the destroyer was placed in full commission again on 17 december 1914 and rejoined the atlantic fleet. in june 1915, one of "balch"s , torpedoes was unloaded at the brooklyn navy yard, loaded on a horse-drawn truck, and hauled across the brooklyn bridge to the astor hotel in manhattan. there, the weapon was on display — along with a shell from a naval gun—for two days at the "peace and preparation" conference of the national security league. a year later, "balch" served as the us navy's observation platform during the inter-club cruise after the seawanhaka-corinthian yacht club's annual june regatta. "balch" was sent to examine which of the powerboats entered into the cruise—reported by "the new york times" as about half of the 200 entries—might be suitable for use as naval auxiliaries.