In August 1989, the squadron was back on board USS Coral Sea patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean in response to Colonel Higgins' murder in Lebanon, winning the Golden Tailhook award on their second deployment.

In October 1990, the squadron transferred to Carrier Air Wing Six on board USS Forrestal, completing an accelerated work up cycle and their third deployment.

In May 1993, the squadron joined Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) and embarked on board USS Constellation for their first Western Pacific deployment in November 1994.

In 1999 and again in 2001, VFA-137 employed precision-guided ordnance against Iraq as part of a Coalition Forces response to repeated violations of the no-fly zone.

VFA-137 embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln for a Western Pacific deployment in October 2004, participating in Operation Unified Assistance, the humanitarian relief effort to aid the victims of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia.

The deployment included port calls in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Sasebo, Japan, and was marked by participation in Exercises Foal Eagle, Valiant Shield, and RIMPAC.