Due to a lack of funding for her operations, ''Miller Freeman'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 1 July 1970.<ref name="afsc"/> When NOAA was established on 3 October 1970, she became part of NOAA{{'}}s fleet as '''NOAAS ''Miller Freeman'' (R 223)''', although she remained inactive. Work began on the completion of her rigging, but it, too, suffered from a lack of funding and was suspended at the end of 1972. Work on her rigging eventually resumed, including the installation of a much-needed five-ton (4,536-kg) crane aft, and when it finally was completed she was recommissioned in 1975.<ref name="afsc"/> She was re-rigged in 1982.<ref name="noaamoc">[http://www.moc.noaa.gov/mf/index.html NOAA Ship ''Miller Freeman'']</ref>
Operated by NOAA{{'}}s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations after her recommissioning with her home port at [Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Washington]], ''Miller Freeman''{{'}}s primary mission was to provide a working platform for the study of the ocean's living resources, operating primarily in the [[North Pacific Ocean]] and Bering Sea.<ref name="characteristics"/><ref name="noaamoc"/><ref>[http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/foci/freeman/freeman.shtml NOAA Ship ''Miller Freeman'' Images and Real-Time Data]</ref> After returning to service, she spent much of the remainder of 1975 conducting work in the [[Gulf of Alaska]] and Bering Sea in support of the NOAA [[Offshore Continental Shelf Survey and Assessment Program]], primarily carrying out resource surveys for the [[Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction Program]] (MARMAP). Her research activities were interrupted on 22 October 1975, when the [[United States Coast Guard]] asked her to assist the [[Crab fisheries|crabbing]] vessel ''Aquarian'', which had lost her steering while operating in the [[Aleutian Islands]]. Despite the rough seas in 40- to 60-knot (74- to 111-km/hr) winds, ''Miller Freeman''{{'}}s crew managed to get a line across to ''Aquarian'' and tow her to [[Akutan Island]], ending a two-day ordeal for ''Aquarian''{{'}}s crew.<ref name="afsc"/>
In 1976, ''Miller Freeman'' discovered [[mastodon]] or [[mammoth]] tusk, tooth, and jaw fragments during trawl hauls in the [[Chukchi Sea]] and [[Kotzebue Sound]]. The discovery was of interest to researchers studying the ancient [[Bering Land Bridge]].<ref name="afsc"/>
