1970s
Austin spent the first two and one-half months of 1970 in port, before sailing on 17 March with Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 2 for the Mediterranean. The deployment included amphibious landing exercises and stops at Rota, Spain, and Málaga, Spain, Genoa, Italy, and Naples, Italy, Cannes, France, and Valletta, Malta. Austin lost her stern gate on 6 June, and temporary repairs were made at Malta from 16–30 June. The ship arrived back in Norfolk on 13 July to begin a yard period for permanent repairs. She emerged from the shipyard on 22 September and began refresher training. Austin again deployed with PhibRon 2 on 16 November. During the cruise, Austin held numerous amphibious and antisubmarine warfare exercises. She also visited Genoa, Livorno, and Naples, Italy, Barcelona and Rota, Spain, Mersin, Turkey, and Athens, Greece. On 7 May 1971, Austin ended the cruise at Norfolk.
The ship got underway again on 14 July for operations in conjunction with the recovery of the Apollo 15 space capsule.
The first two weeks in August were spent in naval mine countermeasures exercises held in the area of Charleston, South Carolina. Austin then entered a period of type training and amphibious exercises followed by more mine warfare exercises in early November. She returned to Norfolk on 12 November for the holidays.
Austin began 1972 with Exercise Snowy Beach, a large-scale landing exercise held off the coast of Maine. From 15 February to 20 March, she participated in Operation Springboard in the Caribbean. The ship visited the United States Naval Academy from 17–20 April to hold indoctrination tours for midshipmen. During the next two months, she conducted type training and took part in Exercises "Exotic Dancer", and "Escort Tiger." On 5 July, the vessel unloaded all ammunition in preparation for overhaul. She entered the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Baltimore, Maryland, on 11 July. Work continued there until 11 October, when she was towed to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for completion of the yard work.
On 15 March 1973, Austin began post-repair trials. She sailed to Guantánamo Bay on 22 March and, after refresher training, returned to Norfolk 24 April. After another two months of preparation, the vessel sailed on 7 June for another Mediterranean deployment. Her ports of call included Alicante, Barcelona, and Rota, Spain; Trieste and Venice, Italy, and Corfu, Athens, and Rhodes, Greece. She took part in several exercises, including NATO Exercise "Deep Furrow", from 18 September to 4 October. On 10 October, Austin got underway for Souda Bay, Crete, as a part of the Sixth Fleet response to the Arab-Israeli War Yom Kippur War. In early December, she began the trip back to Norfolk. After pausing briefly at Morehead City on 19 December, she arrived at Norfolk the next day for post-deployment standdown.
The ship got underway on 8 February 1974 for Guantánamo Bay as a unit of the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Group. She operated from various points in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through August. In early September, Austin visited Caracas, Venezuela, and Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles. While in Curaçao, 154 Dutch marines were embarked for Exercise "Doria Salute VII." The marines disembarked at Vieques Island; then Austin returned to Norfolk (via San Juan, Aruba, and Curaçao) on 19 March. However, she headed back toward the Caribbean on 24 April. The first country visited was Panama, where marines disembarked for jungle warfare training. Her subsequent ports of call included Cartagena, Colombia, Vieques, Puerto Rico, and St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda. From 25 May to 2 June, Austin was back in Norfolk for upkeep. She resumed duty on 30 October by sailing to the Canal Zone. The ship continued her routine of shuttling marines and their equipment between various Caribbean ports through 16 December, when she arrived back at Norfolk.
On 25 February 1975, Austin deployed once more to the Mediterranean and carried out amphibious training exercises and midshipmen training cruises in that area, visiting ports in Spain, Italy, and France before returning to Norfolk on 20 August. She then began an extended period of availability.
The ship got underway on 14 January 1976 to load ammunition and sailed a week later for the Caribbean. After a brief training period at Guantánamo Bay, she continued on to Curaçao. From 4–16 February, Austin took part in Exercise "Rum Punch 76". She was back in home port on 21 February for upkeep.
For the next four months, the amphibious transport dock was involved in a series of inspections, training exercises, and Naval Reserve training cruises. On 9 June, she returned briefly to the Caribbean and then made a short visit to New York City in early July. Austin was back in Norfolk on 10 July and began preparations for overseas movement. She sailed on 20 August for northern Europe. Her ports of call during the cruise included Ørland, Norway; Edinburgh, Scotland; Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands; Esbjerg, Denmark; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bremerhaven, Germany, and Portsmouth, England. After a stop at Morehead City to disembark marines she arrived in Norfolk on 11 November.
The ship went to Yorktown, Virginia, on 17 January 1977 to unload ammunition prior to her scheduled overhaul. She proceeded to Baltimore on 2 February and commenced overhaul at the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. The work was finished on 16 February 1978, and Austin returned the next day to Norfolk. After a brief stay, she sailed to Guantánamo Bay for refresher training, but was back in Norfolk on 25 April. After several months of training, the vessel got underway 22 August for the north Atlantic. There she took part in Operation Northern Wedding, in conjunction with other NATO naval units, and made stops in Norway, Denmark, and England, before returning to Norfolk 31 October.
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