Crocodile in Australia, Cobra Gold in Thailand, and Foal Eagle in South Korea. She visited ports during those exercises including Shanghai, China, and Kure, Japan. During May 1998, Fort McHenry participated on Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT 98), which includes visits and exercises with countries in the Western Pacific such as Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In addition to her involvement in CARAT 98, Fort McHenry received the Commander, Naval Surface Pacific Fleet Wellness Unit Award for 1997 and the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award for 1997 on 1 June 1998. After spending January 1999 in Hong Kong, Fort McHenry entered the competitive phase of her training cycle. In April 1999, Fort McHenry participated in exercise Tandem Thrust 99 in Guam. Fort McHenry was also named a repeat winner of the Commander, Naval Surface Pacific Fleet Wellness Unit Award. Finally, during June 1999, Fort McHenry underwent two Total Ship Training Assessments (TSTA), which confirmed the ship's training progress during the 1999 competitive cycle. In 2000, Fort McHenry participated in exercise Balikatan 2000 with the Philippine Armed Forces. The ship was named a repeat winner of the Battle Efficiency Award, Command Excellence Awards for Maritime Warfare, Engineering/Survivability, Command and Control, and Logistics Management for her achievements during the 1999 fiscal year. After Balikatan 2000 was completed, Fort McHenry continued her hectic schedule by participating in Exercise Cobra Gold 2000, during May 2000, with the navies of Thailand and Singapore. The busy schedule continued in October 2000, when Fort McHenry participated in Exercise Neptune Thunder 2000 with US Army forces stationed in South Korea. From 27 October to 3 November, Fort McHenry concluded the year, and the millennium, with her participation in Exercise Foal Eagle which took place in South Korea. 2001 – 2006 Fort McHenry spent the first half of 2001 in a lengthy Ship Required Availability period. During this period the ship acquired two new weapon systems, Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Launcher and Ship's Self Defense System (SSDS), both would greatly increased the ship's defensive capabilities. After returning to sea in June 2001, Fort McHenry entered the middle of her training cycle. The ship completed a port visit to Kagoshima, Japan in August 2001, where approximately seven thousand residents of Kagoshima toured Fort McHenry. In 2004, Fort McHenry forward deployed at FA Sasebo, Japan, and assigned to Amphibious Group 1. In May 2004, Fort McHenry departed for a