USS George Washington voyage delayed due to needed repairs

CORONADO (KUSI) – 10:30 p.m. – USS George Washington (CVN 73), which was scheduled to depart San Diego on Sep. 4, has delayed its departure by a few days after identifying some repairs that need to be completed before getting underway. 

11:15 a.m. – The USS George Washington is scheduled to leave San Diego Friday for training and refueling.

The GW was based in Japan for seven years before coming to San Diego last month as part of a three-port swap.   

The guided-missile destroyers USS Chafee and USS McFaul will also be leaving, they will take part in Southern Seas 2015, a series of training exercises with vessels from partner nations in South America.

The carrier is scheduled to sail around the tip of the southern continent and head up to Virginia for nuclear power refueling.   

The  Navy is hoping to save an estimated $41 million in personnel transfer costs due to this complicated carrier swap.   

The USS Ronald Reagan, which departed Monday after being based in San Diego for 11 years, will become the Navy’s "forward deployed" flattop in Japan.    

Most members of the Washington and Reagan crews swapped places last month, so the GW sailors are sailing the Reagan back to Japan, where they’re based.

After they reach Virginia, The Reagan crew will fly back to San Diego and prepare to take over the USS Theodore Roosevelt, now deployed in the Middle East.   

The "Big Stick" will be homeported in San Diego following its deployment. Its sailors will fly to Virginia and take over the Washington.

Around one-third of each crew, mainly command personnel and nuclear staff, are remaining with their ships.