In May 1997 USS Milius entered the dry dock in San Diego to complete Post Shakedown Availability (PSA). The guided-missile destroyer returned in September.

May 1998, DDG 69 departed on its maiden six-month deployment in the Arabian Gulf.

In June 2000, USS Milius departed for her second six-month western Pacific deployment.

May 11, 2001 Cmdr. Jeffrey A. Harley relieved Cmdr. Thomas S. Rowden as CO of the Milius.

Frmo June 6-11 the Milius took part in an excercise against the USS Carl Vinson Battle Group and on Sept. 15, it began providing support to Operation Noble Eagle. The ship spent three weeks on station in the Pacific Northwest, and was the first ship tasked with air defense for Seattle. DDG 69 became the first ship to visit a foreign port after September Eleventh when it stopped in Esquimalt, Canada, for three days.

November 2, 2002 USS Milius departed Naval Station San Diego, as part of USS Constellation (CV 64) Battle Group, for a scheduled deployment in support of Operations Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom.

March 19, 2003 By order of U.S. President George W. Bush, four ships and two submarines currently assigned to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet launched 42 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The four ships are USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) and USS Cowpens (CG 63) in the Red Sea, along with USS Milius and USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) in the Arabian Gulf. USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) and USS Montpelier (SSN 765) were the submarines involved in the Tomahawk launches.

April 15, Cmdr. John S. Mitchell III relieved Cmdr. Jeffrey A. Harley as the fifth commanding officer of USS Milius.

June 2, USS Milius returned to homeport following a successful seven-month deployment in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch. The guided-missile destroyer took station in the Arabian Gulf as the flagship for Commander, Maritime Interception Forces. The crew conducted more than 300 boat launches and recoveries, and accumulated more than 200 helicopter landings in one month. Soon after arriving on station in the Gulf in mid-December, it rescued nine Iranian fishermen whose vessel had capsized.

December 6, 2004 USS Milius departed San Diego on a routine western Pacific deployment, with the USS Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group Five (ESG-5). While on deployment, the ships of the ESG will operate in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in support of the global war on terrorism and other missions as assigned by naval leadership. ESG-5 completed its final preparations for deployment in November during a U.S. 3rd Fleet Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) off the southern coast of California.

January 5, 2005 Sailors from the Milius and Thach (FFG 43) recently visited Dili, East Timor, for a scheduled port visit. Navy officials decided to maintain the scheduled visit before dispatching Milius and Thach to support tsunami relief operations near the island of Sumatra because the visit to East Timor was significant.

February 7, USS Milius departed Muscat, Oman, after a two-day port call.

June 6, USS Milius returned to homeport after six-month deployment in support of operations Unified Assistance and Iraqi Freedom.

August 1, DDG 69 arrived in Seattle in support of Seafair 2006. Seafair is Seattle's month-long traditional summer festival, which includes parades, amateur athletics, air shows and boat racing.

December 6, A U.S. Navy Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile was launched from USS Milius, while underway off the coast of southern California. Seconds after launch from the ship's vertical launch system the Tomahawk missile moved to cruise flight, and flew a fully guided 755 nautical mile test flight. This marked the first Tomahawk IV launch from DDG 69.

January 22, 2007 USS Milius is currently operating off the coast of southern California, conducting Expeditionary Strike Group Integrated Training (ESGINT) Exercice, in preparation for the upcoming deployment with the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6).

April 10, USS Milius departed San Diego for a scheduled deployment with the BHR ESG-5.

May 1, The guided-missile destroyer departed Apra Harbor, Guam, after a three-day port visit.

August 14, DDG 69 is currently in the Persian Gulf conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO).

October 8, USS Milius, commanded by Cmdr. Edmund B. Hernandez, returned to homeport after a six-month underway period.

July 28, 2008 The Milius departed Victoria, British Columbia, after a scheduled port visit.

February 23, 2009 Ships from Combined Task Force (CTF) 152, consisting of USS Milius, Australian frigate HMAS Warramunga (FFH 152) and Royal Bahraini frigate RBNS Sabha (FFG 90), as well as other various patrol boats and small craft, conducted a five-day exercise Stake Net aimed at improving the abilities of coalition maritime forces to protect vital offshore infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.

May 11, DDG 69 recently arrived in Manama, Bahrain, for a routine port call.

July 2, USS Milius returned to San Diego after a seven-month underway period.

November 5, Cmdr. R. Trevor King relieved Cmdr. Kendall Gennick as CO of the Milius during a change-of-command ceremony at Naval Base San Diego.

November 14, The guided-missile destroyer is currently off the coast of southern California participating in a strike group sustainment exercise (SUSTAINEX), as part of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Carrier Strike Group.

May 18, 2010 USS Milius departed Naval Base San Diego, after a one-day delay, for an independent deployment to the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility with a primary focus on Ballistic Missile Defense.

December 16, USS Milius returned to homeport after a seven-month deployment. The ship visited Guam, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

February 27, 2011 DDG 69 is currently at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair facility for repairs and modernization.

April 15, Cmdr. Nicholie Bufkin relieved Cmdr. R. Trevor King as CO of the Milius during a change-of-command ceremony at Naval Base San Diego.

October 8, USS Milius recently pulled into San Francisco, Calif., to participate in Fleet Week 2011.

November 10, The guided-missile destroyer anchored off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., for a five-day port visit in conjuction with the 16th Annual Pierre Claeyssens Military Ball.

January 11, 2012 USS Milius departed San Diego for a scheduled independent deployment in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet AoR.

January 28, DDG 69 pulled into Apra Harbor, Guam, for a routine port call.

February 8, The Milius arrived in Port Klang, Malaysia, for scheduled port visit to Kuala Lumpur.