She was the second ship named in honor of Lieutenant (junior grade) Ralph McMaster Rich (1916–1942), who was awarded the Navy Cross for his leadership as a naval aviator aboard USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway.

After a shakedown in the Caribbean Sea, Rich departed Norfolk, Virginia, in late October for a Mediterranean tour, most of which, from December 1946 to March 1947, was spent on patrol in the Atlantic.

Returning to the United States in March, she was converted to a specialized anti-submarine warfare ship at the New York Naval Shipyard; and, in the fall, she resumed operations with the 2nd Fleet.

Rotated regularly to duty with the 6th Fleet, Rich operated during the 1950s and 1960s principally off the east coasts of the United States and Canada, in the Caribbean, and in the Mediterranean.

While with the 2nd Fleet, Rich served in the search and rescue group which steamed along the route of then-Senator John F. Kennedy's flight to South America on his good will visit in 1960.

The next year, she participated in Project Mercury as Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn, USMC, became the first American to orbit the Earth; and from 25 October to 25 November 1962, she operated with the Quarantine Force during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

A year later, she was detached for another mission in support of NASA projects and in March and May 1965, she served as a recovery ship for Gemini space shots.