"Robert L. Wilson" returned to San Diego from the Far East on 27 March 1969, and operated off the west coast until transiting the Panama Canal and arriving Norfolk on 21 June. She then operated in the western Atlantic and Caribbean participating in Operation SPRINGBOARD until deploying to the Mediterranean on 5 March 1970. During this Mediterranean cruise, "Wilson" participated in two combined NATO exercises, DAWN PATROL and MEDTACEX, and was, for a time, diverted to the Levantine Basin due to another Middle East crisis. She returned to Norfolk on 16 September for a leave, upkeep, and training cycle which continued to the end of the year.