Her first Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment came in 1979, where, among other memorable actions including port visits to Pearl Harbor, Enewetok Marshall Islands, Manila and Subic Bay Republic of the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Pattaya, and Okinawa, as well as Hong Kong while it was still under British control. She successfully engaged in experimental launch and recovery operations with Marine close air support
AV-8A Harrier jets and later rescued over 400
South Vietnamese refugees adrift in the
South China Sea; her corpsmen delivering a baby, Grace Tarawa Tran during the rescue effort, who returned to a decommissioned
Tarawa at Pearl Harbor in 2010 to meet the man who delivered her. After a second deployment WESTPAC, beginning in 1980 and spanning into 1981,
Tarawa was in the Indian Ocean. In 1983, during her third deployment,
Tarawa went to the
Mediterranean to support the
United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in
Beirut, Lebanon. Several additional cruises followed. In 1985 as part of the US 7th Fleet,
Tarawa participated in Operation Valiant Blitz with the US Marines 3rd Marine Division. The 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment conducted amphibious landing and helicopter operations off the coast of Okinawa, including visits to Hong Kong and Subic Bay for liberty call. In June 1989,
Tarawa deployed for a six-month WESTPAC tour as the
11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), composed of the Marines from Camp Horno, Camp Pendleton, California, 1st Battalion 9th Marines (redesignated as 2nd Battalion 1st Marines on 9 September 1994). In December 1990,
Tarawa was the
flagship of a 13-ship amphibious task force in support of
Operation Desert Shield. She participated in the
Sea Soldier IV landing exercise in January, which was a deception maneuver suggesting an amphibious assault in
Kuwait, and then on 24 February landed Marines in
Saudi Arabia just south of the Kuwaiti border. In May 1991,
Tarawa went to
Bangladesh in support of
Operation Sea Angel, providing humanitarian assistance to victims of a
cyclone, delivering rice and water purification equipment. In May 1992,
Tarawa deployed for the eighth time to the Western Pacific, participating in Eager Mace 1992–93, a joint U.S./Kuwait exercise. The ship also supported the insertion of Pakistani troops into Somalia in support of UN humanitarian relief, and returned to San Diego in November 1992.
Tarawa was awarded her fourth Admiral Flatley Award and her first Commander, Seventh Fleet, Amphibious Warfare Excellence Award for they deployment. Her 1992 deployment included visits to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Australia. In April 1996, following another complex overhaul at
Long Beach Naval Shipyard,
Tarawa left from
San Diego on her ninth Western Pacific deployment. She took part in US/
Thailand amphibious training exercise in the
Gulf of Thailand, exercise
Indigo Serpent, with the
Royal Saudi Navy, and exercise
Infinite Moonlight, the first-ever exercise between US and
Royal Jordanian Navy, in the
Red Sea. The last preceded
Tarawa visit to the
Persian Gulf in support of
Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the
no-fly zone over southern
Iraq.
Tarawa was also part of
Operation Desert Strike. Returning to San Diego in October 1996,
Tarawa earned both the Federal Energy Conservation Award and the
Secretary of the Navy Energy Conservation Award. On 7 February 1998,
Tarawa, along with , and more than 4,000 sailors and marines, departed San Diego for a six-month deployment. They departed five days ahead of schedule as part of a buildup of US forces in the Persian Gulf. The
Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), consisting of more than 2,100 Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), operated in the western Pacific, Indian Ocean and the
Persian Gulf.
Tarawa conducted special operations certification exercises before leaving on a 10th deployment to the Western Pacific. As the possibility of renewed conflict with Iraq loomed on the horizon, the
Tarawa ARG made a dash straight to the Persian Gulf within 31 days, at a speed averaging 17 knots. Just as the ARG neared the Persian Gulf, the threat passed but, according to Commander, Amphibious Group 3, the 12,500-mile, high-speed transit set a record and won the respect of senior Navy officials. The
Tarawa ARG and the 11th MEU arrived in the Persian Gulf 11 March 1998.
Tarawa,
Denver, and
Mount Vernon relieved and her ARG to continue the commitment to security and stability in the region. In the early summer of 1998 the Amphibious Ready Group conducted an evacuation operation that rescued 250 people from Eritrea's capital, Asmara. The three ships returned home 7 August after having spent six months deployed to the western Pacific, Indian Ocean and
Persian Gulf. In mid October 2000,
Tarawa was passing through the
Strait of Hormuz on her way into the
Persian Gulf when the
destroyer was attacked. On hearing news of the attack,
Tarawa came about and steamed full ahead to the
Port of Aden in
Yemen, where she joined , , and the
Royal Navy ship , already providing logistical support and harbor security, as the command ship in charge of force protection in what became "Operation Determined Response". Other US Naval ships involved were , , , and .
Tarawa remained with the damaged
Cole until she was secure aboard the
Norwegian heavy-lift semi-submersible salvage ship for passage to the US before returning to duty in the Persian Gulf.
AV-8B Harrier launching from
Tarawa in 2003 On 17 January 2001 during her WESTPAC deployment the Tarawa lost her port anchor and chain while visiting Hong Kong. The anchor loss was due to a brake failure during a routine procedure to anchor the ship in Victoria Harbor. EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) personnel attached to the ship, who were scuba certified, were tasked with locating the anchor and did find it. A local barge-crane company was then hired to pull up the anchor but was ultimately unsuccessful in relocating the anchor. The Navy used a video of this loss as a training tool to prevent similar incidents. On 6 January 2003, the
Tarawa (ARG), carrying the
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU/SOC), departed for deployment. In mid-February, elements of the MEU off-loaded and established a training camp in Northern Kuwait while other members of the MAGTF, primarily the helicopter squadron, remained on board the ARG in the Persian Gulf.
Tarawa deployed from mid-2005 to early 2006 to the Middle East in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom and a multinational training exercise (
Operation Bright Star) in Egypt. She transported the
13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. During this deployment, she visited
Darwin, Australia,
Dubai, UAE,
Bahrain,
Singapore, and
Hong Kong. She was redeployed to Bangladesh, this time as part of the
Cyclone Sidr relief efforts with . The code name for the mission was "Operations Sea Angel II" in recognition of
Tarawa previous support to Bangladesh in 1991. These humanitarian assistance efforts were instrumental in the ship being awarded the 2007 Battle Efficiency Award. Her last deployment was from 7 November 2007 to 8 June 2008, with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, composed of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines Charlie and Weapons company, in the Middle East in Support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. She returned to her home port of San Diego, finishing a seven-month deployment. She visited Bangladesh for a third time to offer aid for tsunami victims, Singapore, Bahrain, UAE, Djibouti, Perth and Hobart, Australia and Hawaii. ==Fate==