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Stars and Stripes
Published: March 3, 2015
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Sailors aboard the USS Ronald Reagan will be getting three times the “presidential experience” this summer, and they have the logo to prove it.
A large portion of the current Reagan crew will be among a select, but certainly not unheard of, population of sailors to serve on three different aircraft carriers. The difference is they’ll be serving on them all during the same tour, according to USS Ronald Reagan’s Facebook page.
This summer, the San Diego-based Reagan will swap crews with the USS George Washington, which is currently home ported in Yokosuka, Japan.
The original Reagan sailors will take USS George Washington for a short cruise, while they wait for the USS Theodore Roosevelt to arrive from Virginia.
The ex-Reagan, ex-Washington crew will then complete a presidential trifecta, becoming the crew of the newly San Diego-based Theodore Roosevelt.
To commemorate the unusual distinction, Petty Officer 3rd Class David Frederick designed the “Three Presidents” logo, with pictures of each ship’s namesake. The logo includes the designation “CVN 220” — the total of the ships’ hull numbers.
Most of the current George Washington sailors will transfer to USS Ronald Reagan this summer, continue a Pacific Ocean patrol and then return with the ship to its new Yokosuka homeport.
Meanwhile, George Washington’s current commanding officer will remain with the ship and guide it to Virginia, where it will spend the next few years undergoing a mid-life overhaul. USS Theodore Roosevelt completed its own mid-life overhaul in 2013.
slavin.erik@stripes.com Twitter:@eslavin_stripes
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