Following an extensive operational evaluation and qualification phase, "Gridley" deployed to the Persian Gulf, the ship operated in support of the aircraft carrier . "Gridley" rescued the disabled merchant vessel "Adel 11" in the North Arabian Sea in June 1992. When Operation Southern Watch, the enforcement of a "no-fly" zone over southern Iraq, commenced in August, "Gridley" was the first ship on station off the coast of Kuwait. She provided coastal radar coverage and air-defense protection for ships in the northern Persian Gulf.