[citation needed] In 1957, she made her shakedown cruise through the Caribbean area, ran special trials, and steamed to northern Europe.

Decatur made more such deployments during the late 1950s and early 1960s, as well as serving as a spacecraft recovery ship in September 1961 and taking part in Cuban Quarantine operations in November and December 1962.

She was reclassified as a guided-missile destroyer in September 1966, receiving the new hull number DDG-31, and was recommissioned in April 1967 with CDR Lee Baggett Jr. in command.

[2] From 1994 to 2003 she was employed along the Pacific Coast, conducting trials of various systems for countering anti-shipping cruise missiles and other threats.

After being replaced as SDTS by the decommissioned USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964) she was disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise 22 July 2004.