In September 1919 Adams transferred to the Naval Reserve on inactive duty and returned to Sioux City, Iowa, to practice medicine.

August 31, 1921, Adams returned to active duty in the Regular Navy, Medical Corps and was promoted to lieutenant.

After two years at Great Lakes, Adams was assigned to the USS Idaho (BB-42) as a junior medical officer and spent 11 months at sea.

After completing this assignment in June 1930, Adams spent a year studying at the Naval Medical School in Washington, D.C.

[2] In July 1940, CDR Adams joined Submarine Squadron Five, part of the Asiatic Fleet as a staff medical officer and served aboard the flagship USS Canopus (AS-9).

Adams established the first aid stations ashore and removed valuable medical supplies before the Japanese could capture them.

With the withdrawal of US Forces from Manila to Bataan, Adams became the senior naval medical officer in the Bataan-Corregidor area.

A few months later, Adams became a senior medical member of the Physical Evaluation Board of the Potomac River Naval Command in Washington, D.C.