Her task was to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas.

The first of a new class of high-speed, large-capacity, fully refrigerated stores issue ships, Rigel completed shakedown out of Newport, Rhode Island, and her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia.

In February 1956, she sailed south for the first time; underwent further training in Cuban and Puerto Rican waters; and into the fall provided logistic support along the mid-Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean.

January 1958 brought a return to the Caribbean, followed in March by the initiation of a regular schedule of 6-week replenishment deployments to the Mediterranean with intervening periods spent in loading, upkeep, training, and shipyard overhauls.

Rigel’s crew was eligible for the following medals: This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.