'' Badger '' returned to sea on 11 August 1983 , and took up surveillance duty again , this time in the Sea of Japan . She concluded that assignment on 2 September and shaped a course for Sasebo , but received orders the following day to proceed north in the wake of the tragic downing , by a Soviet fighter , of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 over Sakhalin Island on 1 September . Rear Admiral William A. Cockell , Commander , Task Force 71 , and a skeleton staff , embarked in '' Badger '' on 9 September via LAMPS helo from Wakanai , Japan , for further transfer to the destroyer '' Elliot '' to assume duties as Officer in Tactical Command ( OTC ) of the Search and Rescue ( SAR ) effort . During the forenoon watch on 17 September , however , '' Badger '' s embarked SH-2F helicopter from HSL-37 ( Detachment 2 ) went down at sea ; ) , however , promptly rescued the four-man crew from the water . '' Badger '' ended her part in the KAL 007 SAR effort on the 20th and reached Yokosuka on the 21st to prepare for the voyage back to Hawaii . That journey began on 23 October and included participation in Exercise Battle Week 84-1 followed by a visit to nearby Apra , Guam , before '' Badger '' finally managed to return home on Armistice Day 1983 . Admiral William J. Crowe , Jr. , Commander in Chief , U.S. Pacific Command , visited the ship on 29 November and congratulated the ship 's officers and men on their recent deployment , emphasizing their role during the KAL 007 SAR operation . Post-deployment leave and upkeep and holiday standdown , broken only by a brief period underway on 20 and 21 December to escort as she operated locally , kept '' Badger '' in port at Pearl for the rest of 1983
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
USS Badger (FF-1071)