Avenger was ordered on 29 June 1982, laid down on 3 June 1983 by the Peterson Shipbuilders Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., launched on 15 June 1985, and commissioned on 12 September 1987. Subsequent to her commissioning and a period of test and trials, Avenger arrived in her homeport of NS Charleston, South Carolina, and began operating as a member of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Following the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Avenger deployed to the Persian Gulf as a coalition force member in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm on 16 August 1990. Avenger was the longest-serving ship from all of the coalition forces during the Shield/Storm conflict, as well as the first ship in the history of naval warfare to locate and neutralize bottom mines. Avenger was awarded the Navy Unit Commenda