In late August 1979, HMM-265 deployed again to the Western Pacific, this time on USS "Tripoli", to maintain military presence during the Cold War. Once again under the command of Lt. Col. Donald Klingler, the squadron deployed with the Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) to combine with several additional MAUs to participate in Operation Fortress Gale in Okinawa. Following that, they participated in an assignment called Kangaroo Three in Northeastern Australia, a joint operation between the squadron, the New Zealand military, and the Australian military forces. They also visited New Guinea, Hong Kong, Tasmania, and Sydney where they celebrated the Marine Corps birthday on November 10, 1979. The deployment strength during this assignment was 12 CH-46s, 4 CH-53s, 2 UH-1Ns, 2 AH-1Js, 2 AV-8As.