On 10 April 1963, Thresher, the lead ship of Greenling's class, was lost due to severe design flaws in her non-nuclear piping systems.

Modifications included increased buoyancy and adding 13 feet 9 inches of length to the hull, providing improved living and working conditions for the crew and space for additional equipment.

On 27 May 1968, Greenling's fleet training exercise was interrupted by the search and rescue operation for missing submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589).

[1][2] In the spring of 1983, Greenling was participating in a Tactical Readiness Exam (TRE) in the Caribbean, when, during a drill to evade an enemy surface ship, a full down-angle with a flank bell was ordered.

The engineering crew ultimately spent approximately 6 hours back aft with no AC, before finally making it forward, taking turns on the superstructure planes to cool off.

[citation needed] Greenling was decommissioned on 18 April 1994 and was subsequently disposed through the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 30 September 1994.