USS George Washington to Depart for Japan via South America

[Tony]

Carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) is set to depart Naval Station Norfolk, Va., this week for its new homeport in Japan, the Navy announced on Wednesday.
George Washington is scheduled to leave Norfolk on Thursday to sail down the coast of the U.S., through the Caribbean Sea and enter the Pacific by rounding Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America.

The carrier will be part of U.S. 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2024 event that will team Washington up with the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78), and Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189). The carrier will embark with a partial air wing from Carrier Air Wing 7, Naval Air Force Atlantic announced. Outlined earlier this month, Southern Seas will have the U.S. group sail with warships from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay. Washington plans to make port calls in Brazil, Chile and Peru. An international staff will of about 24 officers from 11 partner nations will serve on the carrier.