HAMPTON, Va. (April 25, 2024) Masa Mueda, left, assigned to U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and Lt. Cmdr. Nami Matsue, assigned to the Navy Warfare Development Center, hold a Japanese naval ensign flown by ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) departs Naval Station Norfolk, April 25, 2024, for a deployment to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations as part of Southern Seas 2024. Following Southern Seas, George Washington is slated to relieve USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) as the forward-deployed naval forces aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adonica Munoz)