On 17 January 1980, "Barry"s homeport was changed to Boston and the following day, she entered Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Boston, for a year-long regular overhaul. The crew, once hull maintenance began, moved into quarters ashore as extensive repair and overhaul of the engineering plant, electronic suite and weapons systems were performed. She departed drydock on 7 August and moored alongside Pier #2 to complete the remaining repair work. Ultimately, "Barry" got underway on 31 March 1981 for her shakedown. Over the next few months, the ship ranged from Newport to the Virginia Capes, working to rejoin the fleet, spending much of that time on local operations in the Narragansett Bay area. While conducting further refresher training in the Bahamas and at Guantanamo Bay, operations were suddenly canceled when the ship received a message directing her to return to Newport to prepare for a Middle East deployment.