March 26, 1999 USS Gonzalez deployed with USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group in support of operations Allied Force in Adriatic Sea and Southern Watch in Persian Gulf. The guided-missile destroyer returned to homeport in September.

USS Gonzalez was deployed for the second time to Arabian Gulf, with USS Enterprise BG, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom April - November 2001. She was one of the first ships to launch Tomahawk missiles on al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan Oct. 7.

November 29, 2003 USS Gonzalez, along with USS Cole (DDG 67) and the Spruance-class destroyer USS Thorn (DD 988), departed for a scheduled deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. As the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Surface Strike Group (SSG), the three ships will participate in regional exercises with allies, make diplomatic port calls and respond to any contingency, including those associated with the ongoing war on terrorism. The SSG can operate independently or in conjunction with other maritime forces.

December 15, USS Gonzalez pulled to Bar, Serbia and Montenegro, for a goodwill port visit. This visit to Bar is historic in that it is the first by a U.S. Navy ship since the establishment of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro in February this year.

May 28, 2004 DDG 66 returned to Naval Station Norfolk after a six-month underway period. During the deployment, the Gonzalez was part of NATO’s Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean (SNFM), serving with nine ships from Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece and Turkey. The ship conducted more than 1,000 vessel queries, served as SNFM Strait of Gibraltar escort commander, and carried out four maritime interdiction boardings in support of the global war on terror. USS Gonzalez took part in one of the largest NATO exercises in history, Mare Aperto 2004, and Dogfish 2004. Mare Aperto 2004 included 37 ships from six nations and encompassed every area of surface warfare. Exercise Dogfish, an anti-submarine warfare exercise, included NATO coalition warships and submarines from Germany, Italy, Turkey, Greece, United Kingdom and France. The destroyer also visited Souda Bay, Crete; Aksaz, Turkey; Toulon, France; Rota and Valencia, Spain; Augusta Bay, Cagliari and Genoa in Italy.

March 25, 2005 USS Gonzalez departed Norfolk for an extended 18-month deployment with the USS Kearserge Expeditionary Strike Group, in support of the global war on terrorism, that will include two Sea-Swaps with the crew off Stout and Laboon.

May 7, The crews of the Gonzalez and PNS Tariq (DDG 181) helped nine people from a Pakistani-flagged merchant vessel to return safely to Pakistan after their vessel lost an engine while fishing in the Gulf of Oman. Gonzalez and Tariq, currently conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the area, worked in tandem to aid the safe navigation of the merchant vessel Al Hamdulillah, which experienced an engine failure in an area more than 650 nautical miles from its home port in Pakistan.

June 8, USS Gonzalez, currently operating as part of Task Force 51 in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility, helped ward off an attack on motor vessel Tigris June 6 in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia.

July 6, The Gonzalez pulled to Port of Mombasa, Kenya, for an overnight port call, marking the first time a U.S. ship has visited Mombasa since 1999.

July 23, DDG 66 departed Manama, Bahrain, after a six-day port visit. The guided-missile destroyer will remain forward deployed for the next 14 months. Its crew will return home to the United States in September when relieved by another crew as part of the Navy’s sea swap program.

November 16, Members of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1 are currently leading a group of six coalition ships, including USS Gonzalez, conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. The strike group’s flagship, USS Tarawa (LHA 1) and USS Cleveland (LPD 7) are joined by USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79). The French ships Var (FS 608) and Lafayette (FS 710), and the Pakistani frigate Badr (PNS 181) round out the coalition task group.

February 21, 2006 Cmdr. Jack Noell, commanding officer of DDG Crew Sierra, turned over command of USS Gonzalez to Cmdr. Robert Randall and DDG Crew Golf at an exchange of command ceremony, held in Manama, Bahrain. Crew Golf, which is the original crew of Gonzalez, will bring the ship home to Norfolk once the six-month deployment is complete. Crew Golf initially swapped ships with Crew Lima Oct. 22, 2004, in order to allow Crew Lima to spend time training aboard Gonzalez before they deployed with the ship. Crew Lima was relieved aboard DDG 66 by Crew Sierra Sept. 20.

March 1, USS Gonzalez rescued six Iranian mariners Feb. 28 after they had been adrift for 10 days in the Persian Gulf.

July 9, Six ships and nearly 5,000 Sailors and Marines assigned to the USS Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group, including Gonzalez, concluded operations in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of operations.

July 17, DDG 66 departed Souda Bay, Crete, following a brief port visit. Gonzalez has been assigned escort duties in support of the evacuation of U.S. citizens out of Lebanon. At the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon and at the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the United States Central Command and U.S. Marines are assisting with the authorized departure of U.S. citizens from Lebanon.

August 17, USS Gonzalez returned to Naval Station Norfolk after an 18-month deployment under the Atlantic Fleet’s Sea Swap initiative.

February 19, 2008 USS Gonzalez, commanded by Cmdr. R. Alistair Borchert, departed homeport for a scheduled underway period in the Mediterranean Sea.

March 6, The guided-missile destroyer joined the Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 2 to participate in the multinational Exercise Mavi Balina '08 March 17-21 off the coast of Turkey. After completing the training the Gonzalez will make a port call to Antalya.

April 18, DDG 66 recently visited Volos, Greece, making it the first U.S. ship to visit Volos in more than seven years. Upon sailing from Volos and enroute to Haifa, Israel, Gonzalez and the other ships in SNMG 2 participated in a robust underway training program designed to hone the task force's air defense and maritime interdiction operations skills. Thirty days after the destroyer reported for NATO duty, the SNMG 2 ships sailed from Haifa and commenced a period of Operation Active Endeavour surge operations, NATO's maritime security operations in the Mediterranean Sea in support of the war on terrorism.

June 6, USS Gonzalez pulled to Souda Bay, Crete, Greece, for a routine port call.

July 25, The guided-missile destroyer pulled to Souda Bay for a brief port visit before returning home.

August 18, DDG 66 returned to Norfolk after a six-month deployment in the 6th Fleet AoR. The ship also made port calls to Rota, Spain; Aksaz, Turkey; Trieste, Italy; Koper, Slovenia; and Taranto, Italy.

October 3, The Gonzalez arrived in Moorehead City, N.C., after a two day Tiger cruise, to participate in a 22nd annual Seafood Festival.

November 8, USS Gonzalez provided mechanical and maintenance assistance to the civilian, double-masted sailboat Gypsy Dane, drifted for four days with one person onboard, 155 miles east of Wachapreague, Va.

January 18, 2009 The Gonzalez returned to homeport after a two-week underway period supporting the Eisenhower (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group’s COMPTUEX as part of the opposition force.

February 5, The guided-missile destroyer recently arrived at BAE Shipyard for a two-month Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) period.

May 2, 71 former Sailors and family members from ex-USS Johnston (DD 821) visited the Gonzalez as part of the Johnston’s annual reunion weekend.

July 7, The "Fighting Freddy" departed Mayport Naval Station after a four-day port call to celebrate the U.S. Independence Day.

July 14, DDG 66 returned to Norfolk after a three-week summer cruise.

August 14, Cmdr. Lynn Acheson relieved Cmdr. Brian Fort as CO of the Gonzalez during a change-of-command ceremony at Norfolk Naval Station.

June 5, 2010 USS Gonzalez departed homeport for a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet Areas of Responsibility.

November 29, The guided-missile destroyer pulled into Batumi for a joint training exercise with the Georgian Coast Guard.

December 21, USS Gonzalez returned to Naval Station Norfolk after six-and-a-half month deployment.

January 26, 2011 USS Gonzalez provided assistance, in the early morning off the Florida coast, to a badly leaking 41-foot commercial fishing vessel Kelly Ann. The DDG 66 is currently supporting the George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Carrier Strike Group’s COMPTUEX as part of the opposition force.

February 25, Cmdr. Steven S. Lee relieved Cmdr. Lynn Acheson as CO of the Gonzalez during a change-of-command ceremony aboard the ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

August 25, The guided-missile destroyer departed Naval Station Norfolk to avoid the approaching Category 2 Hurricane Irene.