until she received orders on 1 December. The following day, she set course for Manila Bay, Philippines, thence to San Pedro, Los Angeles, via Pearl Harbor. She arrived in California on 29 December. 1946–1950 Union operated out of San Diego conducting local operations between periods of upkeep. Caught in the tremendous postwar personnel turnover, Union sometimes operated with less than 50 men on board. In early September 1946, she was called upon to transport typhoon relief supplies to Guam. Some ports visited were Pearl Harbor; Guam; Saipan; Samar Island, Philippines; Tsingtao, and Taku, China. Her amphibious expertise contributed to her success during Operation "Shaft Alley" in Samar and also in resupplying marines at Guam and Peking. Christmas morning of 1946 found Union anchored off Taku Bar where she celebrated the New Year. Throughout January and February 1947, Union conducted operations at Samar Island, Philippines; Tsingtao, China; and Guam. On 23 February, she departed Samar for San Diego via Pearl Harbor. The ship arrived at San Diego on 22 March, then sailed to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a scheduled overhaul. On 14 May, the ship departed Puget Sound for San Diego via San Francisco and began preparing for "Barex-47," the 1947 Point Barrow supply expedition. After loading at Port Hueneme, Union and departed for Seattle on 7 July. On 30 July, the expedition left Seattle for the purpose of delivering supplies to agencies north of the Arctic Circle. After unloading at Point Barrow and Wainwright, Alaska, she loaded empty oil drums and old ammunition at Kodiak, Alaska, and delivered her cargo to Seattle on 24 August. Personnel shortages throughout the Navy necessitated the ship's restricted mobility status for about eight months after she returned to San Diego on 6 September 1947. During the summer of 1948, Union repeated the Point Barrow resupply trip. On 26 July 1948, "Barex-48" got underway from Seattle. Union returned to San Diego on 24 August and finished out the year conducting local operations, which included Operations "Satanic" and "Demon." On 10 January 1949, Union departed San Diego for "Microex-49," a cold weather amphibious operation off Kodiak and Whittier, Alaska. The ship returned to San Diego on 25 February and conducted a month of local operations before undergoing overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, from 31 March to 10 May 1949. Returning to San Diego, Union prepared for a third Point Barrow