USS Houston shaped American experience in the western Pacific

As Asiatic Fleet flagship, Houston supported American interests during the fighting around Shanghai and carried Navy and Marine landing parties. She later joined the scouting force, participated in fleet problems, and carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Henry L. Roosevelt on Pacific and Caribbean tours. Those voyages allowed senior officials to assess Hawaii and other strategic locations for themselves and informed the development of American Pacific doctrine. The resulting doctrine retained fast carrier escort and reconnaissance roles but increasingly demanded more combat capability than the class had been designed to provide.