The exercise completed on 4 November, La Salle joined the 6th Fleet at Naples, Italy, for amphibious operations and joint NATO training.

The remainder of 1967 and the first three quarters of 1968 were spent conducting various exercises and port visits which ranged along the entire Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts and into the Caribbean as well.

Admiral William J. Crowe, who later became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan, was named Commander Middle East Force and assigned to La Salle to serve in this sensitive role.

By the time of Gulf War the ship had become known, more appropriately to its future operational roles, by its new nickname "The Great White Ghost of the Arabian Coast".

After undergoing an extensive overhaul in Philadelphia, La Salle returned to the Persian Gulf and resumed her role as the flagship for Commander, Middle East Forces (COMMIDEASTFOR) in June 1983, relieving USS Coronado.

After the Iraqi missile attack on the frigate USS Stark in May 1987, La Salle provided the primary firefighting rescue assistance to the ship.

[citation needed] She was the flagship of Rear Admiral Harold Bernsen during this engagement, and among other duties hosted "members of a Pentagon news media pool".

On 3 July 1988 the cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Airbus passenger aircraft, Iran Air Flight 655, while La Salle was in Subic Bay, Philippines for repairs.

Returning to a conventional gray paint scheme, La Salle assumed responsibilities as the flagship for Commander, Sixth Fleet on 8 November 1994.

Homeported in Gaeta, Italy, La Salle was fully engaged in operations throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas in its role of supporting Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet and Strike Force and Logistics South.