She was launched on 24 April 1971 and commissioned on 4 August 1971 homeported at Honolulu, Hawaii; served on Ocean Station November and fisheries patrols and search and rescue missions in the Bering Sea.

During the harsh winter of 1897–1898, Lieutenant Jarvis of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear led the Overland Relief Expedition to bring needed food to 265 whalers whose ships had been stranded in the ice off the northern coast of Alaska.

[3] The high endurance cutter was launched 24 April 1971 at Avondale Shipyard near New Orleans, Louisiana and was commissioned 4 August 1972 at Honolulu, Hawaii, where she would be based for the rest of her career.

She received a $55 million Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization Program (FRAM) upgrade at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, Washington between July 1990 and December 1992.

During a severe storm in November 1972[4] off the coast of Alaska along the Aluetian Islands, the USCGC Jarvis ran aground after dragging anchor and started to take on water.