[1] The ship departed Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 10 August 1964 for her homeport of San Diego, California, stopping briefly at Yorktown and Norfolk, Virginia, and then Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

[1] The ship stood out of San Diego on 15 October 1966, bound a second time for Southeast Asian waters, returning to her homeport on 28 March 1967 and making a midshipman training cruise to Pearl Harbor.

[1] Richmond K. Turner departed for her third tour off Vietnam on 10 June 1968, and contributed to Fleet readiness in Asian waters until returning to San Diego in December 1968.

In February, she conducted a SecNav guest cruise, and on 1 March, she commenced an extensive updating of her shipboard missile systems at the Naval Station San Diego.

The vessel returned to Newport, Rhode Island, 22 November 1972 and remained there until 9 January 1973, when the destroyer leader entered Boston Naval Shipyard for a two-month yard period.

[citation needed] With that task completed, the ship was then directed to transit the Panama Canal and conduct surveillance operations off the west coast of Nicaragua.

[citation needed] Upon her return to the United States, Richmond K. Turner was overhauled in Ingalls Shipyard at Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she received the New Threat Upgrade (NTU) to her Combat Direction System as well as many engineering improvements.

[citation needed] In response to the crisis in the Persian Gulf caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Richmond K. Turner deployed early as a primary AAW unit in the Theodore Roosevelt battle group, which arrived in the theater just before hostilities broke out.

During 60 days in the Persian Gulf, Richmond K. Turner provided protection to four carriers and served as an advance picket ship in the mine-infested waters off Kuwait.

Following the cease fire, Richmond K. Turner relocated to the Red Sea where she participated in the continuing maritime interception operations in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

[citation needed] Escorting the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt through the Suez Canal in late April 1991, Richmond K. Turner participated in Operation Provide Comfort, a massive relief effort to help tens of thousands of Kurdish refugees who fled the turmoil of Iraq following that country's defeat in the war.

Richmond K. Turner made a final deployment to the Mediterranean as a part of the Theodore Roosevelt battle group and served as an anti-air warfare command during Operation Deny Flight over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

[1] The SINKEX was conducted by the USS Enterprise battle group including the cruiser Philippine Sea, destroyers Thorn, Nicholson and Carrier Air Wing 3.