Following outfitting and shakedown training based in San Diego, California, the Bellatrix departed from her home port in San Francisco, California on 3 March 1962, beginning her first deployment into the western Pacific.
The remainder of that deployment was spent re-supplying Navy ships via both underway and in-port replenishment including visits to Yokosuka, Sasebo, Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.