The contract for the Tortuga (LSD 46) was awarded on November 26, 1984 and her keel was laid on March 23, 1987. She was launched on September 15, 1988 and commissioned on November 17, 1990.

In October 1998 the dock landing ship participated in Dynamic Mix 98, a combined task force, Mediterranean-wide amphibious assault exercise featuring naval units from the United States and other NATO countries. It also took part in Sardinia '98, a combined amphibious operation exercise, off the coast of Sardinia, involving Italian naval and ground forces, which was designed to familiarize the two militaries with each others capabilities in amphibious warfare. This was the fifth and final exercise during its Mediterranean deployment.

June 6, 2002 USS Tortuga ran aground approximately 1,000 yards off the North Carolina coast, near Morehead City, late at night. No one was injured, and there did not appear to be any significant damage. An investigation into events that caused the grounding was initiated. She was conducting operations in support of a routine exercise as part of the USS Nassau Amphibious Ready Group. Following the refloat of the Tortuga the CO Cmdr. Brian Shanahan and XO Lt. Cmdr. Byron Tracy were relieved of command June 19. Commander, Amphibious Group 2, Rear Adm. Kevin Moran has assigned Cmdr. Tom Chassee as the new commanding officer.

August 26, USS Tortuga departed Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek for a scheduled deployment, with the USS Nassau (LHA 4) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

May 29, 2003 USS Tortuga returned to homeport after a nine-month deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. After the ships embarked the Marines of 24th MEU at Camp Lejeune, N.C., they joined 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, where the Marines participated in operations in Kosovo. During that time the Tortuga made port visits to Koper, Slovenia, and Malta. After the Marines returned, Nassau ARG transferred to the 5th Fleet, where the Marines again deployed for exercises in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. After the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom March 20, ARG again received word that the ships would remain in the Arabian Gulf longer than scheduled, and that the Marines of 24th MEU were needed ashore to join coalition forces fighting in Iraq.

June 16, 2004 The Tortuga departed Norfolk June 7 and is currently operating in the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command area of responsibility, where it will participate in bilateral exercises with naval forces from the Dominican Republic, as well as in the amphibious phase of the multinational naval exercise UNITAS.

May 20, 2005 The dock landing ship departed NAB Little Creek in support of the 33rd annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2005. This year’s international exercise, co-hosted by Latvia and the United States, includes 11 participating nations in the spirit of "Partnership for Peace".

August 31, USS Tortuga, commanded by Cmdr. Mark H. Scovill, departed homeport to head for the Gulf of Mexico to support relief operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast following widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. The Navy's involvement in the humanitarian assistance operations is an effort by the Department of Defense in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

September 4, LSD 46 pulled to New Orleans, Mississippi, to provide assistance in the relief efforts to the victims of the Hurricane Katrina. The ship moored at Naval Support Activity (NSA) New Orleans, where operations are being coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard to aid, evacuate and relocate disaster victims. Using joint Department of Defense and local law enforcement assets, the Tortuga is serving as the lead Navy ship in the city of New Orleans.

March 31, 2006 USS Tortuga arrived in Sasebo, Japan, after completing an 11,000-mile voyage across two oceans and transiting the Panama Canal for a scheduled hull swap with USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43). Tortuga is the sixth Whidbey Island-class ship and will join Commander, Task Force (CTF) 76, serving as an integral part of the Navy’s Forward Deployed Expeditionary Strike Group (FD-ESG) and Forward Deployed Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). Hull swap, or ship rotation, is part of the Navy’s long-range plan to routinely replace older ships assigned to the Navy’s Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNF) with newer or more capable ships.

April 12, USS Tortuga and USS Fort McHenry completed an exchange-of-command process in Sasebo, Japan, which officially welcomed Tortuga to the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF). The Fort McHenry will depart Sasebo this month and return to Little Creek, Va., where it will then be homeported.

May 12, LSD 46, commanded by Cmdr. Michael T. Talaga, welcomed 123 members of the Sasebo community aboard Commander, Task Force (CTF) 76’s newest amphibious ship, to take part in “Family Day Cruise 2006” for a day at sea.

May 16, USS Tortuga departed Sasebo, Japan, for Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism (SEACAT) exercises. SAECAT is a scenario-based exercise where the Navies of various Southeast Asian Nations operate with the U.S. Navy in tracking and boarding simulated rogue merchant ships.

June 14, The dock landing ship departed Changi Naval Base, Singapore, after completing the first phase of exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training.

June 27, LSD 46 departed Sattahip, Thailand, concluding the second phase of bilateral exercise.

July 18, The third phase of CARAT exercise concluded with the closing ceremony in Surabaya, Indonesia. The four Indonesian ships involved during the at-sea phase included the corvettes KRI Fatahillah (FTH-361) and KRI Nala (NAL-363), the frigate KRI Karel Satsuitbun (KST-356), and the patrol craft KRI Pandrong (PDG-801).

August 3, USS Tortuga departed Kemaman, Malaysia, ending the fourth phase of CARAT exercise.

August 6, The dock landing ship arrived in Maura, Brunei Darussalam, for the fifth phase of CARAT exercise begining here Aug. 8 at the Royal Brunei Navy's (RBN) headquarters. The RBN task group is comprised of the Waspada-class fast attack craft KDB Pejuang (P03) and KDB Seteria (P04), and the Perwira-class coastal patrol craft KDB Perwira (P14) and KDB Pemburu (P15).

August 15, The Philippines phase of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise began in Subic Bay, Philippines, with an opening ceremony at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. Philippine Navy CARAT task group ships include BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS 36), BRP Heracleo Alano (PG 376), BRP Teotimo Figuracion (PG 389) and BRP Bacolod City (LC 550).

September 1, USS Tortuga returned to forward-deployed homeport after completing a three-and-a-half month underway period.

October 23, LSD 46 is currently undergoing its selective restricted availability period in Sasebo, Japan. SRA is typically nine weeks long with depot-level availability where intensive time-consuming repairs are completed.

February 3, 2007 USS Tortuga, as part of the Essex Amphibious Rady Group (ARG), is currently off the coast of Okinawa conducting a two week Blue-Green workups in preparation for their spring patrol.

March 5, LSD 46 arrived in the Republic of Korea to conduct Reception Staging Onward-Movement and Integration and Foal Eagle 2007 (RSOI/FE 07), an exercise which will run through the end of March.

April 4, The dock landing ship pulled to Jinhae City, ROK, for a scheduled port visit following the conclusion of Foal Eagle 2007.

April 16, USS Tortuga returned to Sasebo after a successful Spring Patrol 2007.

June 6, USS Tortuga Sailors, embarked elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary unit (MEU) and 37 midshipmen on board for their summer cruise, arrived in Brisbane, Australia, for a four-day port visit in preparation for the upcoming bilateral exercise Talisman Saber 2007.

July 5, LSD 46 arrived in Sydney for a scheduled port call after completing Exercise TS07.

July 24, USS Tortuga returned to Sasebo, Japan, after a two-month underway period.

August 25, The dock landing ship is currently conducting deck landing qualifications in preparation for the ship’s fall patrol.

August 29, The Tortuga arrived in Tokyo in preparation for an upcoming Tokyo Metropolitan Government Disaster Relief Drill.

October 8, LSD 46 departed homeport for a fall patrol throughout the South Pacific region. Talon Vision and Phiblex 08 are training exercises and will run concurrently Oct. 15-31, and will partner 2,700 U.S. and 1,300 Philippine military personnel for two weeks of training emphasizing the importance of U.S. military forces from Japan in supporting the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.

October 16, USS Tortuga recently arrived in Subic Bay, Philippines, for a scheduled port call.

November 15, The dock landing ship is currently participating in a joint training exercise with the Republic of Korea forces off the coast of Pohang.

March 19, 2008 USS Tortuga returned to Sasebo after a two-week underway period that took the ship and crew to Iwo Jima to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the fierce battle.

April 29, Cmdr. John J. Zuhowski relieved Cmdr. Todd A. Lewis as CO of the LSD 46.

May 25, USS Tortuga recently arrived in Puerto Princesa, Republic of the Philippines, for a opening ceremony of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2008 Exercise.

June 8, USS Tortuga, USS Ford (FFG 54), USS Jarrett (FFG 33) and U.S. Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau (WHEC 722) arrived in Sattahip, Thailand, for the second phase of bilateral CARAT exercise.

July 7, The CARAT ships arrived in Kuantan, Malaysia, for the fourth phase of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise.

July 29, An annual naval engagement activity (NEA) between the United States and Indonesia concluded with a ceremony on the flight deck of USS Tortuga July 26.

January 8, 2009 Rear Adm. Richard Landolt, commander of Amphibious Force 7th Fleet, fired CO Cmdr. John J. Zuhowski because of “a loss of confidence in his ability to command.” The executive officer Lt. Cmdr. Dennis Burke was also fired. Capt. Mark Weber, the deputy commodore of Amphibious Squadron 11 since August, has temporarily taken command of the Tortuga. Zuhowski and Burke are being temporarily reassigned within Fleet Activities Sasebo.

January 27, LSD 46 pulled to White Beach Naval Facility at Okinawa, Japan, to onload Marines and equipment in preparation for the ship's Spring Patrol.

March 6, USS Tortuga returned to homeport after completing the first half of deployment. The ship completed participation in Exercise Cobra Gold, an annual Thailand and U.S. co-sponsored joint coalition multinational military exercise designed to train a Thai, U.S. and Singaporean Coalition Task Force.

April 14, The Tortuga is currently off the coast of Philippines, to take part in Exercise Balikatan 2009.

June 16, The dock landing ship departed Okinawa for a summer underway period and to participate in Talisman Sabre '09 exercise.

June 28, USS Tortuga pulled to Cairns, Australia, for a week-long port call.

September 10, Cmdr. James P. Lowell relieved Capt. Mark E. Weber as CO of the Tortuga during a change-of-command ceremony aboard the ship in Sasebo, Japan.

September 24, LSD 46 departed home for a Fall Patrol as part of the Denver (LPD 9) Amphibious Task Group, which will participate in exercises with three different allied nations.

October 3, USS Tortuga and USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) arrived off the coast of Manila Oct. 2 to provide humanitarian assistance after Typhoon Ketsana killed hundreds and damaged the homes of more than three million people in the Philippines Sept. 26. At one point, 80 percent of the Manila was under water after experiencing the heaviest rainfall in 40 years. Also the Typhoon Parma was due to strike the Philippines’ northeastern tip on Saturday night.

February 22, 2010 The Tortuga departed Yokosuka for a three-week underway period. She will represent the Navy at the 65th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima and will support the commemoration ceremony, embarking about 250 Marines and providing logistical support.