Owing to the crisis in Lebanon, which had dictated that the fleet flagship, guided missile cruiser Belknap, not carry out her scheduled visit to Sevastopol, the Thomas S. Gates subsequently operated in support of the Coral Sea and America battle groups off Beirut.

[1][2] With only five days of intensive preparations, she deployed as an element of the battle group under RADM Riley D. Mixson, formed around the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy to participate in Operation Desert Shield.

The Thomas S. Gates began her maiden transit of the Suez Canal (14 September), leading the battle group on its passage through that historic waterway.

She put into Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 29 December in company with the John F. Kennedy, where Vice President Dan Quayle addressed the crews of both ships on New Year's Day 1991.

The Thomas S. Gates, with HSL-44 Detachment 9 embarked, deployed (Med 2-92) in company with guided missile cruiser Biddle and destroyer Comte de Grasse on 6 May 1992, and joined the battle group formed around the carrier Saratoga three days later.

At the conclusion of those operations, she employed her embarked SH-60B Seahawk helicopters in search and rescue efforts in the wake of the crash of an Italian relief aircraft in the former region of Yugoslavia (3 September).

Underway in company with the George Washington Battle Group, the Thomas S. Gates with HSL-44 Detachment 9 (Magnum 453) embarked, sailed to Great Britain to take part in ceremonies for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.

On 5 June 1994, she anchored off Pointe du Hoc along with a dozen other NATO warships as a backdrop for the ceremonies and put into Le Havre on the 6th to allow veterans to tour the ship.

Underway on 9 June, the cruiser sailed south to the Adriatic Sea (arriving there on the 20th via Gibraltar) for duty as "Red Crown" (AAW defense warship) in support of Operations Sharp Guard, Deny Flight and Provide Promise.

After turning over duties on 27 July, the cruiser proceeded to the south of France for festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the amphibious landings at Théoule-sur-Mer (10–16 August 1994).

Following a short repair period at Naples from 16–23 August 1994, the Thomas S. Gates quickly steamed to the Suez Canal, transited the Red Sea and proceeded on to the Northern Persian Gulf.

Once there, she provided AAW coverage for Operation Southern Watch from 27 August to 21 September 1994, the Allied flights over Iraq designed to protect local Shia Arabs from attacks by Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime.

Underway 26 May, the cruiser sailed to Barcelona, arriving there 3 June after conducting a burial at sea with the remains of three World War II veterans.

The Thomas S. Gates then sailed to La Maddalena, Italy, for a short maintenance period (24–29 June) alongside submarine tender Simon Lake.

The cruiser then participated in joint Exercise Strong Tarpon (14–21 September) in the eastern Atlantic before conducting return port visits to Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Cannes.

During a three-month deployment, the cruiser conducted six patrols out of Rodman, Panama, during which she made two major drug seizures (4.5 tons of cocaine) from "Go-Fast" speedboats off El Salvador.

The cruiser's embarked USCG Enforcement Detachment boarding team, with the cooperation of the cruise ship's captain and security force, apprehended Jose Miguel Battle, Jr. the suspected leader of The Corporation, an organized crime outfit.

Due to poor weather in the Pacific, Thomas S. Gates exited the strait via the Smyth Channel and conducted a 36-hour transit through restricted maneuvering waters.

The Navy decommissioned Thomas S. Gates on 15 December 2005,[2] four months earlier than the planned March 2006 date, and after serving only 18 years in the active fleet.

[1] There is also a pamphlet entitled "USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) decommissioning ceremony, 14 December 2005 Naval Station Mayport" OCLC 156786375 listed on Worldcat.

The heraldic rayonne division of scarlet and gold symbolizes the severity of Japanese kamikaze attacks that descended upon aircraft carriers during the Lingayen, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa campaigns, in which Gates participated.