During the summer of 1994, Curtis Wilbur participated in RIMPAC '94, a major multi-national exercise involving more than thirty ships as well as numerous submarines and air assets, both carrier- and land-based.

Throughout the remainder of 1997, Curtis Wilbur participated in numerous Seventh Fleet exercises, including Javelin Maker, Missilex 97-4, Aswex 97-6JA, Harmex 97-2, Annualex 09G, and Comptuex.

During this deployment, Curtis Wilbur visited ports in Singapore, Australia, Guam, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

After completing Tandem Thrust '99, an annual multi-national training exercise, Curtis Wilbur received immediate tasking to proceed at best speed en route to the Persian Gulf.

Steaming in company with Kitty Hawk and Chancellorsville, Curtis Wilbur conducted a no-notice high speed transit and arrived in the Persian Gulf on 18 April 1999.

On 30 June 2007, Curtis Wilbur collided with a Russian Udaloy-class destroyer while docking in Vladivostok, Russia, sustaining minor damage.

[5] In March 2011, in company with the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the ship was deployed off northeastern Honshu, Japan to assist with relief efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

[8] In January 2016, Curtis Wilbur sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) of the disputed Triton Island in the South China Sea[9] as part a planned series of Freedom of navigation operations (also referred to as FONOPs).

[12] The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) responded to a distress call from two boaters stranded off the coast of San Diego, March 4, 2024, rescuing them from the sinking vessel.