"Worden" spent the year 1979 operating out of Yokosuka, Japan.On 21 January, under the command of Captain Carl Alfred Nelson USN, USS "Worden" deployed from Japan, arriving first at Subic Bay before conducting workup exercises in the South China Sea then returning to Subic Bay on 5 February 1980, during which a meeting occurred with the crew of the USS "Reeves" (CG-24); the USS "Reeves" was to replace USS "Worden" in Japan, and the meeting was the beginning of planning for the turnover in Japan later that year.