On 21 August 1980, while on a Western Pacific Ocean deployment, Merrill rescued 62 Vietnamese refugees, over 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Saigon.

Upon receiving notice of the planned closure of Long Beach, The USS Merrill relocated to San Diego Naval Base in 1994 and spent the next few months as a test platform in deployment for the RAM material, which was designed to make the ship appear as small as a tug boat on radars.

During the first half of the deployment, the battle group conducted a variety of multinational operations and exercises designed to support U.S. interests and relationships in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Persian Gulf.

The change in name reflected the increasing focus on preparing naval forces for joint operations with other U.S. military services.

During the previous several years this exercise placed increasing emphasis on incorporating joint procedures, planning, and command and control structures into task group training.

The battle group had entered the Arabian Sea on 16 May, and conducted high tempo operations there that included more than 4,400 sorties during more than 10 weeks in the Persian Gulf.

After departing the Persian Gulf, the Constellation battle group concluded its tour in the 5th Fleet with a joint-combined exercise with the Pakistani Armed Forces.

The purpose of this four-day training mission was to exercise the joint-combined naval and air capabilities of both countries, improve their respective levels of readiness and interoperability, and enhance military relations between the two nations.

Merrill was decommissioned and stricken 26 March 1998 awaiting disposal at Pearl Harbor Naval Intermediate Ship Maintenance Facility.