Following the American Union elections in 2321, the Huey Long was assigned to the 26th fleet as part of the first wave of ships to restore access and stabilize the Atlantica System. The ship would serve as the flag ship for Colonel Richardson for the duration of operations in Atlantica.
It would participate in the First Battle of Atlantica and would be struck by numerous missiles designed to detonate prior to impact to maximize hit probability. The ship's armor stood up to the missile attack, leaving the crew and many of the systems intact however the 'upper' surface of the ship including its armor plate were practically sand-blasted clean, leaving many of the ship's weapon systems destroyed. As one of the ships that was still largely functional after the battle, it would recover the remaining crews from the AUS William Tweed and AUS Lyndon B Johnson before heading to Atlantica itself.
The Huey Long continued to be Richardson's flagship during the Atlantica campaign, from the Battle of Pelagic to the Battle of Ur. The ship carried the now General to the negotiations to end the MA war for independence, upgrade to the Elder Statesmen sub-class while Richardson organized post-war technology demonstrators, and took him back to Atlantica to garrison the now shared system.