At the time of her commissioning, Mount Whitney joined her sister ship Blue Ridge as having the distinction of carrying the world's most sophisticated electronics suites.

Mount Whitney was armed with a "main battery" of computers, communications gear, and other electronic facilities to fulfill her mission as a command ship.

Mount Whitney can transmit and receive large amounts of secure data to and from any point on earth through HF, VHF, UHF, and SHF (satellite) communications channels.

In February 2005, Mount Whitney left Norfolk for Gaeta, Italy where she was redesignated (LCC/JCC 20) and assumed duties as the 6th Fleet flagship, officially relieving USS La Salle.

Individuals working for the city administration reported that the failure was due to issues with Mount Whitney's border crossing documents, while others suggested anti-NATO protests were the cause.

[10] From 19 March 2011, Mount Whitney served in the Mediterranean as the main command vessel for the enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 against Libya.

[15] In February 2013, Mount Whitney transferred to the San Giorgio del Porto Shipyard in Genoa, Italy for a major 60-day overhaul and repair project.

Mount Whitney had been in Viktor Lenac Shipyard since January 2015 undergoing a scheduled maintenance overhaul designed to extend the service life of the ship to 2039.

[19] From early 2017 through to October 2017, Mount Whitney was at the Viktor Lenac Shipyard; Rijeka, Croatia, for further upgrades to its information technology infrastructure, and various engineering refurbishments.

[24] On 18 October 2023, Mount Whitney deployed from Gaeta with the Commander 6th fleet, Vice Adm. Thomas Ishee, and his staff, onboard "in support of U.S. operations" in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in waters off the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.