Patrol ended, can't award medals or buy mods

[Skubber]

I had a very similar probelm when I tried to pull into La Spezia for repairs.
Except for the part about not knowing your home port had changed, I'm not sure it really is a problem. It seems like awarding medals and undergoing extensive upgrades would be something you only do in your home port. Whereas getting repairs for what you have and taking on supplies is something you could do.

You are right that you can't get into your personnel files from your desk, but I discovered that by clicking on the large file cabinet in the upper left of the screen you can get into the barracks to manage your crew. (I guess you are there as a kind of "guest".) You just can't award medals.