Vice Adm. Tokuhiro Ikeda, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Fleet Escort Force commander, center, walks through side boys as he departs the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington after conducting staff talks. George Washington and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing 5, provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interest of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.