[1] Stalwart and her sister ships were designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold War anti-submarine warfare operations in the 1980s.

The SURTASS sensors were replaced by an AN/SPS-49 long range air search radar and Link 11 system, to aid in location of drug smugglers.

[2] Stalwart left military service on 15 November 2002, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 December 2002.

The vessel has also been used in recent years by various federal, state and local groups for practical training in firefighting, search and rescue, and port security.

Refit entailed reinstatement of ABS class, complete redesign of interior layout with special emphases on increased laboratory space, renewed all systems, installation of DP1 dynamic positioning system and full ocean depth multibeam capability for deep sea ocean research operations.