Aviation Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Albert Mendez, from San Francisco, uses a wire brush to clean a fire nozzle on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington as the ship departs Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. 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.