On 26 September, "Badger" departed Pearl Harbor in company with the "Ranger" task group bound for an extended assignment with the 7th Fleet. The warships entered Subic Bay on 15 October, and "Badger" began a 10-day availability. Late in the evening of the 26th, she put to sea to rendezvous with the rest of the "Ranger" task group. On 30 October, the ships began the transit of the Strait of Malacca and, the next day, entered the Indian Ocean, the appearance of this task group in the Indian Ocean reflecting the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran by Iranian militants almost a year before and the holding of embassy personnel as hostages. Though the task group never entered the Persian Gulf, its training evolutions kept it within rapid steaming time of that troubled area. "Badger" and the task group remained in the Indian Ocean through the end of the year and into 1981 conducting intensive training of all types including multilateral exercises with Allied navies.