Training exercises and Atlantic Fleet maneuvers out of Norfolk, generally operating in the Virginia capes area and the West Indies, followed as the composition of DesRon 2 remained constant during 1955 and into 1956. Hunter-killer antisubmarine warfare (ASW) training prepared the ships to return to the Mediterranean. The ships participated in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Exercise Whipsaw, after which Barton and Soley steamed to Port Said, Egypt, to transit the Suez Canal and proceed into the Persian Gulf for a routine six-week patrol with the Middle East Force. On 29 October 1956, Barton and Soley started south from the vicinity of Abadan, Iran, to leave the gulf, circumnavigate the Arabian Peninsula, and retransit the Suez Canal. Hostilities broke out that same day between Israel and Egypt, however, over Egypt's nationalization of the canal - the Suez Crisis. The war closed the waterway, and subsequent international military action prompted Egypt to block it with sunken ships. Meanwhile, Barton and Soley anchored in Sitrah Harbor, Bahrain, and stood by in case a need arose to evacuate Americans from the region. Operating from Bahrain, Barton spent the next two months anchored at night and conducting tactical and gunnery drills by day. Finally, on 12 December, the destroyer received orders directing her around the Cape of Good Hope to Norfolk, where she tied up on 5 February 1957.