Peterson made her first deployment which included duty as flagship for Commander, Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

Peterson was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for her role as naval gunfire support ship off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon as part of the Saratoga battle group in April 1984.

In the Fall of 1985, Peterson participated in the NATO exercise 'Ocean Safari' in the North Atlantic, earning the title of 'Blue Nose' for the crossing of the Arctic Circle and was also awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for exceptional performance.

In 1986, Peterson deployed to the Mediterranean with the America battle group and performed search and rescue duties during combat operations in the vicinity of Libya.

During Peterson's 1988 deployment, she served as the flagship for Commander, Destroyer Squadron Twenty Six and operated with the British, French, German, Spanish and Tunisian navies.

When civil war broke out in Liberia, Peterson was called upon to make a high speed transit to the site with embarked Marines to stand by to evacuate American citizens trapped by the fighting.

For the rest of the deployment, Peterson assisted in the evacuation of more than 1,600 refugees with Saipan and her Marine Amphibious Readiness Group, before returning home in September.

Modifications included installation of the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System, SQQ-89 Anti-Submarine Warfare SONAR suite and double RAST tracks to support two SH-60B helicopters.

On 16 February 1993, Peterson commenced a six-month Middle East Force deployment in the Red Sea where she intercepted and boarded 247 vessels in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

In response to Iraq's attempted assassination of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, Peterson successfully struck the Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad with 14 Tomahawk missiles on 26 June 1993, as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On 22 October Peterson commenced a three and a half month SRA which included the installation of the state of the art Tomahawk Weapons Control System (ATWCS).

The ill-fated mission in question occurred on 18 November 2001, when 8 U.S Navy members boarded Samra, an Iraqi oil-smuggling ship, suspecting it of violating oil sanctions against then president Saddam Hussein's regime.

She received more than ten accolades from national and fleet commanders for the timely, high quality reporting provided to the Office of Naval Intelligence, greatly improving understanding of suspect activities in the Horn of Africa region.

Final underway: While returning from Newport, Rhode Island, Peterson steamed for 6 hours at full power and successfully fired 100 rounds from her 5"/54 guns.