One CIWS and one Sea Sparrow mount were removed to make way for two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers, installed during the 2005 Drydocking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA).

[citation needed] On 1 December 2005, the United States Navy announced that George Washington would replace Kitty Hawk as the forward-deployed carrier at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, becoming the first nuclear-powered surface warship permanently stationed outside the continental U.S.[8] In an attempt to explain the carrier's mission to the Japanese public, the U.S. Navy printed a manga about life aboard GW, titled "CVN-73".

[9][10] George Washington and CVW-17 left Norfolk on 4 April for a scheduled two-month deployment to operate as part of SOUTHCOM's "Partnership of the Americas".

[13] According to a statement from Naval Air Forces' public affairs office, the fire broke out in the ship's air-conditioning and refrigeration space and an auxiliary boiler room.

[16][17] A Navy investigation found that the "entirely preventable" fire had been caused by unauthorized smoking in a room where 115 US gallons (440 L) of flammable refrigerant compressor oil was improperly stored.

Although the carrier's commanding officer started a program to remedy the team's training and performance in the month before the fire, the report found those efforts to have been insufficient.

Admiral Robert F. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, noted in his investigation, "It is apparent from this extensive study that there were numerous processes and procedures related to fire prevention and readiness and training that were not properly functioning.

[22] The Navy and Marine Corps Medal was awarded to Senior Chief Petty Officer Keith Hendrickson for leading a team that rescued four shipmates trapped by the fire deep in the interior of the ship.

[32] The George Washington Carrier Strike Group returned to Japan 3 September for a maintenance upkeep period prior to her second fall patrol.

[41] While docked for maintenance in Yokosuka she detected radiation from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents,[42] and was ordered to leave port before schedule, with a smaller-than-normal crew, to avoid the radioactive plume.

[43] While at sea, the carrier made two visits to United States Fleet Activities Sasebo to exchange crew members and take on maintenance equipment.

Senator Tom Coburn (OK-R) called for the decommissioning of George Washington in 2016, before beginning her refueling and complex overhaul but after the carrier Gerald R. Ford enters service.

[46] On 22 November 2011, George Washington returned to Japan to conclude her 2011 patrol, with four port visits including Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong and two major exercises while cruising more than 50,000 nautical miles across the western Pacific Ocean.

[47] During deployment, the aircraft carrier participated in joint training exercises with other service branches and regional partners, visited three Asia-Pacific nations (South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia) to practice interoperability, and conducted dual-carrier operations with John C. Stennis.

On 8 February 2013, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that the scheduled mid-life complex overhaul for the carrier Abraham Lincoln would be postponed pending the resolution of the upcoming budget sequestration.

The budget shortfall would affect Lincoln's refueling of her nuclear propulsion plant, the next scheduled mid-life complex overhaul involving George Washington forward-based in United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, and the de-fueling of the recently deactivated nuclear-powered Enterprise.

On 11 November 2013 George Washington and her carrier strike group were deployed for a humanitarian mission in the Philippines, Operation Damayan, after destructive Typhoon Haiyan.

[51] In January 2014, it was announced that George Washington would be replaced by Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka when the ship's Refuelling and Complex Overhaul is due.

The decision to replace George Washington with the newer Ronald Reagan in her area of operations near Japan means decommissioning the ship would not affect American carrier presence in the region.

In 2011, the Congressional Budget Office had found that the elimination of a carrier and an air wing would save about $7 billion from 2012 through 2021, the time at which George Washington would be expected to return to service.

However, Nimitz has undergone a mid-life refuelling and is not due for decommission until the mid-2020s, whereas George Washington has yet to undergo this procedure, providing an opportunity to remove the ship from service before the planned expenditure.

[56] In the draft of the Navy's unfunded priorities list for FY 2015, a $796 million line item was included for the Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) of George Washington.

Before it was approved by the Pentagon and sent to Congress, it was vetted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and signed by Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert, after which the line item was removed.

As of July 2014[update], the Navy was still awaiting the fate of sequestration and the moving of funds to refueling the ship puts pressure on other programs.

In San Diego, George Washington conducted a 10-day turn over period with Ronald Reagan before leaving the Southern California operating area for Naval Station Norfolk, where the ship is expected to begin mid-life RCOH at Newport News Shipbuilding, Huntington Ingalls Industries in fall 2016.

[60] George Washington deployed in October 2016 to Haiti to provide support after Hurricane Matthew, along with USNS Comfort and USS Mesa Verde.

[64] In October 2024, the Navy reported that welders at the Newport News Shipyard purposely circumvented proper procedures, resulting in substandard welds on the ship.

Shortly thereafter, a tenth suicide occurred on 15 April, described by Gaut to the crew as a member of the ship's security team, who had a self-inflicted wound.

[67] However, the issue gained wider media attention during the next two weeks, and by 29 April 2022, Captain Gaut announced that the ship will move 260 sailors "to an offsite barracks-type living arrangement on Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth", specifically, a Navy Gateway Inn and Suites, starting the following Monday, and the number will expand at about 50 additional beds per week.