With the New Year of 1980 started, and FORREST SHERMAN in her homeport of Charleston, SC, making preparations for participation in an Atlantic Fleet Exercise (READ 1-80) began.

The ship was underway on the 14^th, and while in the Caribbean, she qualified for Naval Gunfire Support at the Vieques Island range.  On the 30^th USS FORREST SHERMAN had delayed a scheduled port visit to rescue the USS VOGE.

USS VOGE was disabled at sea due to engineering difficulties.  She was located and taken in tow at night and on the following morning, boiler feed water and technical assistance were provided by FORREST SHERMAN’s Engineering Department.  On the 1^st of February, FORREST SHERMAN and VOGE moored at Nassau, Bahamas.

FORREST SHERMAN continued to assist VOGE and also conducted ship wide tours while in port, which generated a great deal of interest among the passengers of cruise ships which were also making calls in Nassau. 

FORREST SHERMAN departed Nassau on 3 February and headed for home, arriving on the 4^th in her homeport of Charleston, SC.  The remainder of the month was spent completing pre-overseas movement preparations for deployment in March.  Also a dependent’s cruise was conducted on the 28^th on the return trip from the Naval Weapons Station of Charleston, SC.

Following a freak March snowstorm, FORREST SHERMAN deployed on March 11 to the Sixth Fleet, with further assignment as a Mideast Force augmentee.  She arrived in Rota, Spain on the 23^rd of March, and was presented with two transit proficiency awards by Admiral Metcalf, Commander, Cruiser, Destroyer Group Eight.  The “Golden Drop” award for fuel conservation was garnered by the Engineering Department and the “Magellan” award for navigation went to the Quartermasters.

FORREST SHERMAN departed for the Mideast on the 26^th of March in company with USS MULLINNIX.

On April 1^st, FORREST SHERMAN and the MULLINNIX arrived at Port Said, Egypt.  On the early morning of the 2^nd, the two ships commenced their transit of the Suez Canal and reached Port Suez later that evening.

For FORREST SHERMAN, this crossing of the Suez Canal was her 2^nd since completing the first transit on her around the world cruise of 1958.

Brief stops for fuel were made in Djibouti and Bahrain, but no liberty was authorized until the 20^th of April when FORREST SHERMAN made a two-day visit to Bahrain.  After departing Bahrain, FORREST SHERMAN was assigned to patrol the Arabian Gulf in company with the USS RICHARD BYRD.  On April 25, FORREST SHERMAN along with the MULLINNIX and RICHARD BYRD, departed the Gulf due to the attempted rescue of the American Hostages in Iran.

After passing through the Straits of Hormuz early on the 26^th, FORREST SHERMAN joined up with the Indian Ocean Carrier Task Force and took on fuel.  On the 27^th of April, FORREST SHERMAN made a brief fuel stop in Muscat, Oman.

FORREST SHERMAN spent the early part of May on patrol off the North coast of Africa, visiting Djibouti on the 3^rd and 4^th and making a brief stop for fuel there on the 11^th also.  A later port visit to Djibouti on the 16^th and 17^th of May coincided with Armed Forces Day, which was jointly commemorated by the crew of FORREST SHERMAN and the 13^th Demi-Brigade of the French Foreign Legion.  The Legionnaires hosted a visit and military demonstration at the Legion Camp on the 16^th and a group of 30 of their officer and men toured FORREST SHERMAN the following day, and hosted a luncheon on board.  Local dignitaries and American Embassy personnel were also invited.

A visit to Port Sudan, Sudan, followed from the 19^th till the 22^nd of May.  FORREST SHERMAN made a brief stop for fuel at Djibouti on the 24^th and proceeded to cross the equator on 29 May, which included the initiation of all pollywogs into shellbacks enroute to Mombasa, Kenya.  The ship arrived in Mombassa on the 31^st of May where they remained until the 10^th of June when they departed to rejoin other Mideast Force units in the Arabian Gulf.

Surveillance of the Island Socotra and a fuel stop at Djibouti were conducted enroute.  While in the Gulf, FORREST SHERMAN operated with USS LaSALLE, the COMMIDEASTFOR Flagship.  Numerous exercises were conducting, including boarding and salvage drills, a ships defense force review, and a towing exercise in which the FORREST SHERMAN towed LaSALLE.

The ship was also visited by Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Thomas Crow, after which FORREST SHERMAN made one last visit to Bahrain on 28 June.

On 1 July, FORREST SHERMAN departed Bahrain and steamed to Djibouti for a brief fuel stop on the 7^th enroute to Port Suez, Egypt.  A turnover with USS MULLINNIX, USS COMTE DE GRASSE and USS BRISCOE completed the return trip through the Suez Canal on the 11^th.  The 15^th through the 29^th of July were spent in port in Naples, Italy.

On August 1^st, FORREST SHERMAN arrived in Rota, Spain to out chop from the Sixth Fleet.  The trans-Atlantic crossing began on 2 August and the ship returned to her homeport of Charles, SC on 12 August.

FORREST SHERMAN received the Navy Expeditionary Ribbon for the Mideast deployment, and won the “Magellan” award a second time for outstanding navigational accuracy during the return Atlantic crossing.  For the remainder of August, FORREST SHERMAN remained in her homeport making preparations for upcoming overhaul.

Prior to departing Charleston for overhaul in Pascagoula, Mississippi, FORREST SHERMAN provided ship-handling training for Citadel cadets and junior officers from other Charleston based ships while transiting to the Charleston naval Weapons Station.  Ammunition was off-loaded on 18 September upon arrival at the Weapons Station and further ship handling training was conducted the following day on the way back to the Naval base.

FORREST SHERMAN’s Commanding Officer, CDR A.J. BOOTH, was in charge of the training session which was video taped by Destroyer Squadron Four for future use.

The ship left for Pascagoula on 20 September, with 44 male guest of the crew embarked.  Also, a Burial at Sea was conducted enroute for former RMSN Edgar Cook, USN, and a World War II Veteran.  A brief recreation stop was made at Dry Tortugas, Florida on the 22^nd and then arrived at the Ingall Shipyard in Pascagoula, MS on 24 September.

For the month of October, the crew of the SHERMAN moved off the ship and into barracks and dining facilities provided by Ingalls Shipyard.  Also the crew steadily adapted to the new work projects in the overhaul of the ship.  Dry docking if the ship on 1 November moved the ship a milestone closer to being finished with her overhaul.

Also with the month of November came the 25^th Anniversary of FORREST SHERMAN’s commissioning and a cake cutting ceremony was held in its honor on the 9^th.  During the rest of November, the overhaul continued on.

For the month of December, FORREST SHERMAN received three SURFLANT PROFICIENCY AWARDS:  the Damage Control “DC” Award for the third consecutive year, an Anti-Submarine Warfare “A” Award for the second consecutive year, and the Electronic Warfare Excellency Award.

As for the overhaul, worked slowed down to celebrate Christmas and the New Year and rang in 1981 to start FORREST SHERMAN’s next 25 years of its life.

The FORREST SHERMAN remained in overhaul at Pascagoula, MS until August 1981.  She departed Pascagoula 4 August 1981.  Rearmed by VERTREP at Pensacola, FL, she proceeded to Charleston, SC arriving on 8 August 1981.

Captain Booth was relieved as Commanding Officer by CDR Denis Tsukalas on 20 September 1981.  November and December saw the FORREST SHERMAN in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for refresher training before returning to Charleston, SC.

On 18 March 1982 FORREST SHERMAN departed Charleston for Rota, Spain.  April 1982 saw port visits to Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.  A planned port visit to Livorno, Italy was cancelled to make a freedom of the seas passage through the Gulf of Sidra off the coast of Libya.  During April the FORREST SHERMAN also rescued 17 Yugoslavian sailors from their burning freighter in the central Mediterranean with the USS JESSE L. BROWN.  SHERMAN then transited the Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aqaba, off the coast of Saudi Arabia.  She made port visits to Aqaba, Jordan, and Djbouti.

May 1982 found FORREST SHERMAN operating with the JOHN F. KENNEDY Battle Group in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean before assuming Radar Picket Station in the Persian Gulf.  After a brief port visit in June to Manama, Bahrain, July found FORREST SHERMAN headed north through the Suez Canal with port visits to Naples, Italy, Palma de Mallorca and Rota, Spain.  While north of the Azores she encountered a Soviet Cruiser.  On 6 August 1982 FORREST SHERMAN returned to her homeport of Charleston, SC, having completed her final deployment.

FORREST SHERMAN was decommissioned 5 November 1982 and designated by the CNO as a retention asset.  She arrived undertow at the Inactive Ship Facility Philadelphia 19 November 1982.  She was stricken from Naval Vessel Register 27 July 1990 and designated by CNO for disposal by scrapping.  The Navy Curator removals were completed 10 April 1991.  Item Manager, Fleet, and other Government agency stripping completed 30 August 1991.  Reported to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) as ready for scrap sale 3 April 1992.