CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, Oct. 18 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: 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 departi  more