Capt. Daryle Cardone, left, commander of the USS Ronald Reagan, greets Capt. Tim Waits, skipper of the USS George Washington, at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., July 24, 2024. (Keyly Santizo/U.S. Navy)
The USS Ronald Reagan and USS George Washington are primed to exchange hundreds of sailors and dozens of aircraft as the two aircraft carriers prepare to relocate later this year.
About 350 sailors aboard the Ronald Reagan — about 13% of its crew — will move to the George Washington before it heads to Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, according to Ronald Reagan spokesman Lt. Cmdr. James Adams.
They’ll be joined by personnel and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 5 and staff from Destroyer Squadron 15, he told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.
“With them, these sailors will bring their Indo-Pacific and forward deployed experience to George Washington,” he said. The Ronald Reagan is “one of the most advanced and capable warships in the world,” he added.
The USS Ronald Reagan arrives at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., July 23, 2024, ahead of a crew and aircraft swap with the USS George Washington. (Keenan Daniels/U.S. Navy)
The two carriers are making the exchange at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, Calif., just across the bay from downtown San Diego.
Adams declined to comment on the date the George Washington will arrive in Japan, citing operational security concerns. Additional information regarding the exchange is forthcoming, he said.
The swap, first announced by the Navy in April 2023, concludes a nine-year chapter for the Ronald Reagan.
The carrier arrived in Yokosuka in 2015 to succeed the George Washington as the centerpiece of the U.S. 7th Fleet. The two ships at the time swapped nearly two-thirds of their respective 3,000 crewmembers.
The George Washington in 2017 moved to Newport News, Va., for its mid-life nuclear refueling and maintenance. The refit, scheduled to take four years, was significantly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other setbacks.
Once the crew swaps are complete, the Ronald Reagan is expected to undergo its own maintenance period at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash.
