[10] At the time of her commissioning, Blue Ridge joined her sister ship Mount Whitney as having the distinction of carrying the world's most sophisticated electronics suites, which were said to be some thirty percent larger than that of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, which had been the most complex.

Blue Ridge was armed with a "main battery" of computers, communications gear, and other electronic facilities to fulfill her mission as a command ship.

The Chilean patrol boat lost its mast and damaged one of Blue Ridge's basket antennas, just aft of the port sponson, in the boarding operation.

[15] Blue Ridge arrived at San Diego on 9 April, with Rear Admiral David M. Rubel, U.S. Navy, Commander Amphibious Group Three and staff embarked.

[18] After completing degaussing in the deperming facility at Ballast Point, on 7 January 1972, Blue Ridge departed home port San Diego and steamed to Pearl Harbor for deployment on the ship's first WestPac, with port visits at Guam, Sasebo, Japan, White Beach, Okinawa, Subic Bay, Hong Kong and Singapore.

[19] Upon arrival at White Beach, "Blue Ridge" became the flagship for Commander Amphibious Group 1], Rear Admiral W. D. TOOLE, in this relieving USS Paul Revere (LPA-248).

General Miller and the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (9th MAB) staff were ordered to remain on Blue Ridge for combat or evacuation operations.

It was integrated with the Task Force 76 Joint Intelligence Center and operated from the supplemental radio spaces of Blue Ridge using input from the service cryptologic agencies in Southeast Asia.

[19] With a lull in the fighting and 64 days at sea, Blue Ridge made a port call to Subic, from 7 to 14 June, for supplies and sanity, then returned to the Gulf of Tonkin.

"[23] On the first of July, while steaming outside of Da Nang Harbor, in the combat zone and the ship's port 3-inch gun manned, Blue Ridge had her first change of command.

[19] After 7 days in Subic, Blue Ridge returned to the Gulf of Tonkin until 18 July 1972 and was then ordered to the Philippines for typhoon relief along with Tripoli, Juneau, Alamo, and Cayuga.

[19] From 12 February 1973 until 4 April 1973, Operation Homecoming, returning POWs from Hanoi and VC camps in South Vietnam went to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.

[27] With Operation End Sweep progressing in the coastal waters of North Vietnam for the mines released there, Blue Ridge left White Beach again on 10 July 1973 headed for the Gulf of Tonkin.

Blue Ridge spent two nights in north Vietnamese waters off the coast of Vinh and Hon Matt before departing for Manila in the Philippines.

[27] Because of the problems associated with the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, Blue Ridge, on the transit back to White Beach, Okinawa from port call in Singapore, became the first Seventh Fleet combatant ship to refuel at sea with a commercial tanker, taking on some 158,000 gallons of Navy distillate from the Falcon Princess.

One of Blue Ridge's ensigns went overboard unnoticed and when found absent for a watch muster, a compartment search was conducted aboard the ship for the missing officer.

[27][28][29] At the end of Pagasa II, bad tropical weather forced the transfer of the staff from Blue Ridge to Denver, after a very short stay in Subic Bay, to occur in White Beach instead, on 7 October.

On 8 October, Blue Ridge steamed for homeport San Diego carrying a Patrol Craft Fast on the helicopter deck.

[32] After the end of the Battle of Xuân Lộc on 21 April, President Thieu resigned and fled into exile and North Vietnamese forces surrounded Saigon.

[33] Admiral Gayler directed USSAG/Seventh Air Force and Seventh Fleet to begin Frequent Wind Option IV at 10:51 (Saigon time), but for some unexplainable reason, dissemination of this message to the participating units had been delayed from 10:52 until 12:15.

[35] The commanding officer of ProvMAG 39, Colonel McLenon, exercised control of his Marine aircraft through the Tactical Air Coordination Center (TACC) on board Blue Ridge.

Direct communications with Admiral Whitmire and 9th MAB Rear were sporadic, at best, requiring a continuous relay by the C-130 Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center.

[37] The sky over the evacuation fleet was soon filled with Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) helicopters, looking for a place to land and unload their passengers.

To free up space on the flight deck, RVNAF helicopters were ditched by their pilots in the South China Sea after unloading their refugees on ship.

[41] At 11:30 North Vietnamese tanks smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace less than 1 km from the Embassy and raised the flag of the Viet Cong over the building, ending the Vietnam War.

From 21 July 1979 through 30 June 1984, Blue Ridge and other ships in the West Pacific engaged in operation Boat People, receiving the Humanitarian Service Medal, rescuing refugees from Vietnam.

[25] For example, on 6 October 1980 while transiting the South China Sea, Blue Ridge embarked Vietnamese refugees onboard from two separate small boats.

[citation needed] Also on 15 May 1984 Blue Ridge rescued 35 refugees in the South China Sea, 350 nautical miles (650 km) northeast of Cam Ranh Bay.

Blue Ridge participates routinely in U.S. and allied training exercises each year with countries throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

The Seventh Fleet Band disembarked from Blue Ridge in order to provide the Japanese public with concerts dedicated to the victims of the tsunami.