She departed then for her first tour of duty in the Far East, during which she made a good will cruise of ports in the northern islands of Japan, as well as training with ships of the Chinese Nationalist Navy.

Damaged by typhoons in August, she was repaired at Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan, and returned to Long Beach 15 November.

On 2 November, she sailed with her division and Greer County (LST-799) for combined amphibious and minesweeping exercises out of Kodiak, Alaska; in these operations, her group was joined by ships of the Royal Canadian Navy.

During these maneuvers, Force collected hydrographic data and served as home base for an explosive ordnance demolition team.

On 24 April 1973 Force was lost off Guam, when a fuel leak was ignited by the No.1 Engine turbocharger and spread rapidly throughout the ship, despite the efforts of the crew.