The turbines were designed to produce a total of 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) intended to reach a speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).

The ships carried a maximum of 371 long tons (377 t) of fuel oil which was intended gave them a range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

Coghlan arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, 28 December 1921 for operations in East Coast and Caribbean waters.

Coghlan took part in the funeral ceremonies for President Warren G. Harding at Washington (7–9 August 1923) and served as a plane guard in the North Atlantic (24 July – 6 September 1924) during the Army's round the-world flight.

The destroyer returned to her cruising along the east coast and in the Caribbean, served as an exhibition vessel at the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition during the summer of 1926, cruised with the Special Service Squadron off Nicaragua (3 February – 31 March 1927), and took part in the Presidential Fleet Review, in Hampton Roads, 4 June 1927.