The aircraft carrier USS George Washington prepares to resume its annual patrol from Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Sept. 29, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The USS George Washington quietly steamed out of Tokyo Bay on Tuesday to resume its annual patrol after an extended mid-deployment stop.
The carrier was initially scheduled to leave Monday, according to the Japan coast guard’s website, but delayed its departure until the following morning.
While in port since Aug. 30, the George Washington’s crew kept busy with events, including a Sept. 11 memorial, tours for Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan coast guard and trips with Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation. Meanwhile, maintenance teams stayed busy aboard the ship.
Aircraft carriers homeported at Yokosuka, home of the U.S. 7th Fleet, typically conduct annual deployments that last about six months with a stop roughly halfway for maintenance on the ship and rest for its crew.
The George Washington’s predecessor, the USS Ronald Reagan, typically would remain in Yokosuka several weeks during such stops. The Navy usually refrains from sharing ship schedules due to security concerns, but the Ronald Reagan often concluded its patrols between November and December.
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington prepares to resume its annual patrol from Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Sept. 29, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Cmdr. Mark Langford, spokesman for the George Washington, said the carrier’s stop was “planned and executed in accordance with scheduled operations.”
“The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Indo-Pacific to maintain regional security and stability, keep sea lanes open, and assure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he told Stars and Stripes by email Monday.
Pilots with Carrier Air Wing 5 — the ship’s embarked wing — also requalified during field carrier landing practice at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. The practice is normally held on the remote island of Iwo Jima, but volcanic activity there forced the Navy to relocate the drills.
During the first half of its deployment, the George Washington made multiple port calls, including in the Philippines, Australia and Guam, and took part in the biannual Talisman Sabre exercise in Australia.
In August, it participated in a multicarrier drill alongside the amphibious assault ship USS America, the British aircraft carrier Prince of Wales and the Japanese flattop JS Kaga.
In July, an aviation boatswain’s mate, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV, was lost in a presumed overboard incident off Australia’s northern coast.
The Navy honored Lynch, 19, of Florida, and 175 other sailors who died this year during a Bells Across America ceremony last week in Yokosuka.
AloJapan.com