 Following an overhaul in the Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1955, the destroyer rejoined the Atlantic Fleet for three months of hunter-killer antisubmarine warfare training in preparation for a Mediterranean cruise.On 28 July 1956, the destroyer departed Norfolk and entered the Mediterranean Sea on 7 August.After participating in NATO Exercise "Whipsaw", "Barton" and "Soley" steamed to Port Said, Egypt, to escort a convoy through the Suez Canal and into the Persian Gulf for a routine six-week patrol with the Middle East Force.