From her base at Pearl Harbor, Tang operated in the Hawaiian Islands, providing services to surface and air antisubmarine warfare (ASW) forces.

In March 1959, during a cold weather training cruise, Tang tested a newly developed snorkel de-icer system.

She returned to the Pacific Northwest in late February 1961, following her fourth overhaul at Pearl Harbor, for shakedown training and participation in a First Fleet Exercise, SLAMEX.

Two years later, she made her third voyage to the northwestern coast of the United States; this time to join in First Fleet ASW exercises.

During Tang's return trip from the west coast shakedown cruise, the destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy had come under hostile fire (See Gulf of Tonkin Incident).

She returned to Pearl Harbor in March, 1965 after completing multiple patrols supporting the Vietnam War and also in various other regions of the Western Pacific.

Two months later, she resumed local operations in the Hawaiian Islands before embarking upon her eighth deployment to the western Pacific in mid-January 1969.

In May 1972, she left the yard with a new AGSS hull classification symbol and began preparation for changing home port to San Diego, California.

She resumed local operations after a 30-day standdown period, then made preparations for a deployment to South American waters for Exercise UNITAS XV.

At the completion of UNITAS XV, Tang visited Acapulco, Mexico, before returning to San Diego on 16 December, for Christmas standdown.

With the exception of a brief MIDPAC deployment in March, Tang operated out of her home port of San Diego for the remainder of 1977 and the first half of 1978.

On 1 August, her home port was changed to Groton, Connecticut and her SS hull classification symbol was restored in anticipation of her forthcoming inter-fleet transfer.

For the remainder of 1978, she engaged in her new primary mission-training Iranian Navy personnel as well as providing service to units of the Atlantic Fleet.