In late November 1982 Harry W. Hill was detached from the USS Enterprise battle-group to shadow the Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk, which was transiting the Indian Ocean for her first deployment to the Far East, a matter of considerable interest to U.S. planners.

In 1994, Harry W. Hill was significantly damaged during a maneuver to re-float her and exit a dry dock.

In the incident, she was caught by a gust of wind which caused the ship to smash into the dry dock.

The ship sustained damage to her rudders, screws, and controllable prop pitch systems.

Harry W. Hill was the only Spruance-class destroyer not to receive the armored box launchers nor the Mark 41 vertical launch system for firing Tomahawk cruise missiles.