"Barry" sailed for her assignment on 10 November 1981, bound for Hamilton, Bermuda, on the first leg of her transit of the Atlantic. The ship then pressed on for the Azores, and thence into the Mediterranean, ultimately transiting the Suez Canal on 26–27 November. Joining an Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) formed around , , and , "Barry" helped escort these ships through the Bab el Mandeb Straits on the 29th. Steaming separately, the destroyer touched at Djibouti for fuel on 30 November, before joining with the battle group formed around on 1 December.