USS Ronald Reagan leaves Japan after an 8½-year mission; Nuclear aircraft carrier ready for major renovation

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa – The nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which was stationed at the U.S. Naval Base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, departed Thursday, completing its 8.5-year mission. The ship will undergo a major renovation upon return to its home country.

Since October 2015, the ship has been patrolling the Indo-Pacific region and participating, among other things, in joint exercises with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Before deploying to Yokosuka, it served as the lead ship in the U.S. Army’s Operation Tomodachi and provided immediate relief following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The crew said their farewells by manning the rails in the cockpit of the USS Ronald Reagan as it departed Yokosuka shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday. Captain Daryle Cardone, the ship’s commander, expressed his gratitude at a news conference before departure and said he was grateful for the support of the people of Japan. The USS George Washington, another ship of the same class, will be deployed as a successor.