The ship's namesake received the Medal of Honor posthumously for combat action in Quang Ngai Province during the Vietnam War in 1970.

[9][10] Miguel Keith was originally a non-commissioned ship, with a USNS prefix but, like her sister ships, she was commissioned by the Navy,[11][12] in order to provide combatant commanders greater operational flexibility in utilizing the ESBs in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.

[3] On 8 May 2021, Miguel Keith was commissioned into Navy service at Naval Air Station North Island.

[4] The ship was damaged while under construction when the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company's drydock was accidentally flooded on 11 July 2018.

Though the ship's deck can land and maintain the largest helicopters, it cannot accommodate F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, despite their short-takeoff and vertical-landing capabilities.