The departure ceremony held on the flight deck was attended by Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, and Rear Admiral Greg Newkirk, the commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5.
The USS Ronald Reagan is the ninth ship of the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, commissioned in 2003. It was deployed to the Yokosuka in October 2015 and has since sailed over 400,000 nautical miles and conducted numerous missions over a period of approximately nine and a half years. Particularly, in 2021, Ronald Reagan supported Operation Allies Refuge to assist in the evacuation of U.S. military personnel and civilians from Afghanistan, helping to save the lives of approximately 7,000 people. Also, in 2022, Ronald Reagan was deployed to the vicinity of Taiwan to response to missile launches conducted by China which had been occurred after Speaker of the House pf Representative Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan.
And this time, the Ronald Reagan departed from Yokosuka and is going to return to the United States homeland after concluding its patrol in the Western Pacific, for Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH). According to the announcement from the U.S. 7th Fleet, this patrol is accompanied by the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83).
The successor to the Ronald Reagan is USS George Washington, which will rendezvous with the Ronald Reagan in the Western Pacific, conduct aircraft exchanges, and then be deployed to the Yokosuka by the end of this year.
