Seattle visited Long Beach, San Diego, Acapulco, the Panama Canal, and New Orleans, arriving at Norfolk, her designated home port, on 22 November.

Following additional exercises and battle problems, Seattle steamed for Mayport, Florida, and thence proceeded to Norfolk, arriving on 12 February.

Passing through the Straits of Gibraltar the next day, Seattle loaded cargo onto Concord and then proceeded to the eastern Mediterranean Sea via Augusta, Sicily.

The Jordanian Crisis had brought matters close to a boil, and Seattle served as the primary logistic support ship for Saratoga and her escorts.

Leaving Athens on 29 October, Seattle replenished ships until 9 November, when she pulled into Augusta, Sicily, for another one-day fuel lift.

She participated in "Bystander" operations in the western Mediterranean and in exercise "National Week XIV" before returning to Norfolk on 19 December.

after the assault on Kuwait by Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein, the Seattle received immediate orders to be deployed from its new Homeport recently changed from Naval Station Norfolk to Naval Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey to incorporate and provide support with the fleets sent underway at first to exert military pressure to political negotiations but later, when the government of Saddam entrenched, to provide continued cover during Operation Desert Shield.

During the course of operations, the Seattle would take a crucial and important part, while no substantial bases and ports existed yet in the Persian Gulf, in the earlier and later actions in the buildup to the Operation Desert Storm during the conflict of the First Persian Gulf War from the first weeks of August to the end of April next year, after the successful retaking of Kuwait and surrender of Iraq.

Under its new captain, Wilbur Trafton, Vietnam veteran Naval Pilot, the Seattle was assigned an extra wing of Air crews and helicopters to provide faster and continued air cargo supply, around the clock, besides its main operations of replenishment while at sea to multiple ships on its starboard and port sides even while underway at fast speed.

During the 7+1⁄2-month period of its active duty back and forth in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea theatre of operations, the Seattle was mostly well covered by the defense systems of the carriers and battle groups, but on two separate occasions Iraqi Forces spotted the vessel and tried to strike it with Scud missiles while away replenishing itself in allied ports (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia & Haifa, Israel), in order to hinder the fleets main source of provisions and thus, their continued presence and air raids on them.

On 12 August 2004, Seattle rescued twelve crew of the Indonesian flagged cargo ship Edha II – delivering the survivors to Umm Qasr Port, Iraq.