Service History
During the crisis in Jordan in 1970, Butte was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for her peacekeeping role in that operation.
From December 1972 to July 1973 she operated in the Tonkin Gulf and was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal with one battle star.
Shortly after getting underway from Norfolk on 3 September 1974, Butte suffered a major fire in the main switchboard, disrupting all ship support electrical supply. She was towed back to the naval base for repairs which included replacing the switchboard.
In July 1978, Butte 's homeport was temporarily shifted to Brooklyn, New York where she underwent a major overhaul. In June 1979, her homeport then became Naval Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey. BUTTE was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal for a 1981 Indian Ocean deployment which also took her to the Mediterranean. A 1983 deployment took BUTTE to the shores of Beirut, Lebanon where she was awarded a second Navy Expeditionary Medal for her support of U.S. Embassies overseas, including those in Beirut, Lebanon and Tunis, Tunisia. During a 1984-85 Mediterranean deployment, she was rated as best ship in Service Squadron Two and, in May 1985, was awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" in Engineering, Damage Control, Command Control and Communications, Navigation/Deck Seamanship and Fleet Support. "Butte underwent another major overhaul in Mobile, Alabama from August 1985 to May 1986. Butte was a big part of Operation Goldenrod during a 1987 Mediterranean deployment when she helped with the arrest of two Lebanese terrorists in international waters off the coast of Lebanon.
Butte was in Brooklyn, NY for a short Phased Maintenance refitting yard period from April 1990 to September 1990 while Operation: Desert Shield was conducted. During the Brooklyn yard period, the ship was outfitted to accommodate its new female crew members. The shipyard allegedly did substandard repair work on the ship, and went bankrupt while the ship was in dry dock. The U.S. Navy sent the Butte to the shipyards at Naval Station Philadelphia for inspection of work already done by the Brooklyn yard and to finish the repair work. The Butte would later spend a month off the coast of Cuba near Guantanamo Bay for pre-deployment Damage Control and firefighting training. The Butte did in fact, deploy to the Mediterranean in support of continuing operations in the Persian Gulf and Kuwait, and the crew received the Southwest Asia Service ribbon.
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