USS Ronald Reagan arrives at new homeport in Bremerton, Washington

The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan arrived in Bremerton, Washington, this week after being based in Japan for nearly a decade.

The carrier, which got underway from Yokosuka, Japan, in May, steamed into its new homeport at Naval Base Kitsap on Tuesday, and is poised to complete a routine maintenance period.

“I am incredibly proud of our crew and the work they’ve accomplished in our time as the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier,” Capt. Daryle Cardone, commanding officer of the Ronald Reagan, said in a statement. “They were asked to perform at the highest level and exceeded those expectations. Now we are looking forward to making upgrades to the ship, and even more well-deserved time stateside for the crew.”

The ship, which swapped some crew members with the aircraft carrier George Washington in San Diego before heading to Washington, participated in Valiant Shield 2024 en route to the West Coast. The exercise, based out of Guam, included U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s joint forces and Japan Self-Defense Forces working together across domains.

“Even though Ronald Reagan’s time in 7th Fleet is over, we are still in the fight,” Cardone said. “The success of our previous deployments is a testament of the crew’s warfighting capability and displays our adaptability in an ever-changing theater. Everything we accomplished while forward-deployed carries over as we continue to improve the ship and prepare the crew for Ronald Reagan’s next chapter.”

The George Washington is slated to replace the Reagan in Japan as the Navy’s lone forward-deployed carrier. The Navy previously homeported the ship in Yokosuka from 2008 to 2015.

GW completed its mid-life refueling and complex overhaul maintenance, or RCOH, last year, and is completing a Southern Seas 2024 deployment as it transits to Japan.