 With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the lack of a perceived threat against the United States came drastic cuts to the defense budget , and the high cost of maintaining battleships as part of the active fleet became uneconomical ; as a result , New Jersey was decommissioned for the final time at Naval Station Long Beach , California , on 8 February 1991 , with the ship serving a total of 21 years ( the most of the four Iowa 's ) in active service . The decision to decommission New Jersey robbed the battleship of the chance to participate in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 , a military campaign to forcibly remove Iraqi invasion troops from Kuwait . Hostilities had commenced on or about 15 January 1991 and sister ships Missouri and Wisconsin were engaging Iraqi targets with Tomahawk missiles at the time of New Jersey 's decommissioning . Following her decommissioning New Jersey was towed to Bremerton , Washington , where she remained in reserve until struck from the Naval Vessel Register in January 1995 . 
