Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan Rupley, from Dededo, Guam, greets family members on the pier after the USS Ronald Reagan pulled into Naval Base Guam for a scheduled port visit June 19, 2024. (Caleb Dyal/U.S. Navy)
The USS Ronald Reagan steamed into Guam’s Apra Harbor on Wednesday for a scheduled port call and the aircraft carrier’s first visit to the island since 2022.
The Ronald Reagan, now on its final patrol in the Indo-Pacific, stopped in Guam following the conclusion Tuesday of Valiant Shield, a biennial exercise, according to photos posted to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website.
The Ronald Reagan is returning to the U.S. after nine years for scheduled maintenance at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Wash. It will be replaced at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, by the carrier USS George Washington, now en route, according to the Navy.
Sailors handle a mooring line on the fantail as the USS Ronald Reagan pulls into Naval Base Guam for a scheduled port visit June 19, 2024. (Eric Stanton/U.S. Navy)
The scheduled port call allows the Ronald Reagan to stock up on supplies during its summer patrol - usually a six-month affair - and provides crew members a chance to participate in community or volunteer activities, according to Carrier Strike Group 5 spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Seth Koenig.
One of its escort ships, the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls, also stopped in Guam, he added.
“About a dozen sailors on the Ronald Reagan crew from Guam were able to reunite with family on the pier upon the ship’s arrival, and it was heartwarming to see,” he told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday. “Guam is a special place for all of us.”
The carrier last visited Guam in June 2022 after concluding that year’s iteration of Valiant Shield, according to Koenig.
The USS Ronald Reagan steams into Apra Harbor, Guam, for a scheduled port visit on June 19, 2024. (Jonathan Estrada Eguizabal/U.S. Navy)
Koenig declined to comment on how long the ships will remain in Guam, citing operational security concerns.
The Ronald Reagan and two escort ships, the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins and guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam, spent four days in Guam in 2022, according to the Navy at the time.
Valiant Shield this year brought approximately 10,000 U.S. military members from all six services to Japan, Guam, the Mariana Islands and Palau.
The exercise concluded with the sinking of a decommissioned amphibious transport dock, the USS Cleveland, about 40 miles off the coast of Palau, U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Chris Loundermon told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.
