Marine Corps

SAN DIEGO – The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) departed the San Diego area for routine operations Oct. 8, beginning its transit to Yokosuka, Japan.

George Washington assumed the role of the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed carrier, replacing USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), which operated out of Yokosuka for nearly nine years before departing Japan in May.

“USS George Washington departed San Diego to begin the final phase of its redeployment to Japan, where it will once again serve as the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier,” said Rear Adm. Greg Newkirk, commander of Carrier Strike Group 5. “It will take up station alongside the always-ready forces postured in the area of responsibility. George Washington, with all its capabilities, represents America’s commitment to stability in the region where it will sail and fly with our partner navies as we strive to move from interoperability to true interchangeability.”

George Washington completed its midlife refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding in May 2023, conducted pre-deployment certifications and inspections over the course of 10 months, and departed Norfolk, Virginia, in April for its Southern Seas deployment around South America, arriving in San Diego in July.

The forward-deployed Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, which recently completed training at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada, will embark George Washington to transit the Pacific Ocean and return to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.

“I am incredibly proud of this team and everything they have accomplished this year,” said Capt. Timothy Waits, commanding officer of George Washington. “This crew, alongside Carrier Air Wing 5, is trained, tested, and ready to return to 7th Fleet as the Navy’s premier forward-deployed aircraft carrier.”

This marks the second time that George Washington has served as the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Japan aircraft carrier. In 2008, it became the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be forward-deployed to Japan before being relieved by Ronald Reagan in 2015.

After operating in the U.S. 3rd Fleet and 7th Fleet areas of operations, George Washington will arrive in Yokosuka in late fall.

As we close out Hispanic Heritage Month across the country through food, family and culture, Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) reflects on stories of the Hispanic Americans who have shaped our country through service and dedication.

One such story comes from the director for NMRC’s Biological Defense Research Directorate (BDRD), Capt. Guillermo Pimentel.

Pimentel, born in Manhattan and raised in Puerto Rico, began his career in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a hospital corpsman in 1988.

“We lived in the Guánica, the poorest town in Puerto Rico. It is the friendliest town, and a beach-lovers paradise,” Pimentel recalled. “During my senior year of high school, I was approached by a Navy recruiter. I ‘failed’ the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery by 2 points.”

Nevertheless, that same recruiter went on to explain the benefits of joining the Navy.

“It was very appealing, since I come from a low-income family, and I would be fully independent, so I joined the Navy at 17.”

Following his time as a reservist in the Gulf War, Pimentel left the service to earn a bachelor’s degree in industrial microbiology and a master’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico.

Pimentel then braved the cold climate of Pullman, Washington to earn a doctoral degree in plant pathology from Washington State University (WSU), focusing on mycology and population genetics. Following his graduation from WSU, Pimentel, now a lieutenant, became head of the microbiology department at the U.S. Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.

From 2003 to 2010, Pimentel served multiple leadership positions at the Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) 3 (now NAMRU EURAFCENT), then located in Cairo. In these roles, he managed research projects with the mission of implementing and strengthening laboratory-based disease surveillance capabilities in the Middle East, Central Asia, former Soviet Union, North Africa and West Africa. Pimentel led research and surveillance efforts to understand the epidemiology of infectious diseases of public health importance in the EUCOM, CENTCOM and AFRICOM Areas of Responsibility. He went on to provide laboratory support during several H5N1 flu outbreaks in West Africa and Central Asia. During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, Pimentel led the NAMRU-3 outbreak support to forces deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and 20 partner nations.

In August of 2015, Pimentel reported to the NAMRU-6 (now NAMRU SOUTH) in Lima, Peru as executive officer. In March 2017, he became commanding officer of the NAMRU.

Before returning to NMRC as BDRD director, Pimentel served as the Chief of the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Branch at the Defense Health Agency from 2019 to 2022, leading the DoD global infectious disease surveillance network in support of Force Health Protection for the Geographic Combatant Commands.

Pimentel shared thoughts on these experiences in the Navy, and on growing up in Puerto Rico, as part of NMRC’s recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month.

‘We should absolutely recognize Hispanic Heritage Month,” Pimentel commented at a recent command gathering. “As humans, we tend to forget history and past contributions of our personnel pretty quickly. I see Hispanic Heritage Month program as a mechanism to reflect on the past and to learn from the history of an organization.

“We all learn and experience differently across our lives. This it is what make us unique as individuals. When we bring all this unique and diverse knowledge to an organization, it makes us stronger.”

Pimentel also spoke on the Hispanic leaders that inspire him.

“I love to learn about past contributions of our military and civilian personnel to the mission,” Pimentel said. “A good example is how Dr. Martinez-Lopez, a Puerto Rican just like me, was a general for the Army, commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, and now is Assistant Secretary of Health Affairs.

“As a Puerto Rican, it gives me lot of pride, and sometime hope, because less than 1% of all admirals and generals come from a truly Hispanic background. I love to listen from where they came, how they fought challenges, how they apply their experiences and their impact to the mission.”

Throughout Hispanic Heritage month, NMRC aims to recognize the contributions of our sailors, scientists and civilian personnel with roots in countries and cultures with Spanish-speaking heritage.

NMRC is engaged in a broad spectrum of activity from basic science in the laboratory to field studies in austere and remote areas of the world to investigations in operational environments. In support of the Navy, Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighters, researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 374th Operations Support Squadron airfield management and 374th Civil Engineer Squadron power production and fire department completed an annual aircraft arresting system certification at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Oct. 7.

The AAS utilizes the arresting hooks attached to the tail of an aircraft to safely decelerate and stop the aircraft when needing to land in short distances.

This time around, an F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 14th Fighter Squadron out of Misawa Air Base, Japan, supported Yokota’s flightline Barrier Arresting Kit-12 recertification for another year of service.

“The recertifying of Yokota’s BAK-12 barrier cable gives our airfield the ability to host fighter aircraft during contingency operations,” said Tech. Sgt. Henson Greene, 374th OSS airfield manager.

The certification tests the stability and effectiveness of Yokota’s AAS when the aircraft cannot perform a standard landing in the event of an emergency.

“We are a primary divert for Misawa and Kadena AB, as well as aircraft carriers,” said Greene. “It allows us to support those aircraft surrounding bases in the event that there is an emergency.”

By certifying Yokota’s airfield for safe use by fighter aircraft, Yokota will help eliminate potential operational constraints in the region and increase Yokota’s capability to support U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter assets – extending the overall reach of Yokota’s airpower.