Ronald Reagan made five deployments to the Pacific and Middle East between 2006 and 2011 while based at Naval Air Station North Island.

[7] Since 2016, Ronald Reagan has embarked on short annual summer patrols of the Western Pacific in the United States Seventh Fleet area of operation.

At the end of the graveside services, the ship's commanding officer at that time, Captain James Symonds, at Mrs. Reagan's request presented her the flag that draped the former president's casket.

Four gold stars represent Reagan as 40th US President and his four pillars of freedom: individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy, and national pride.

The aircraft carrier is positioned on the West Coast, representing Reagan's two terms as governor of California and the ship's Pacific Fleet homeport.

The view of the globe signifies Reagan's vision of global democracy, and the center is the United States, representing the country's national pride.

Upon leaving Rio, Ronald Reagan transited the Strait of Magellan on 20–21 June and subsequently visited Valparaíso, Chile, and Callao, Peru, before arriving in San Diego on 23 July 2004.

During an anti-submarine warfare exercise in 2005, HSwMS Gotland, on loan from the Swedish Navy, managed to score multiple simulated attacks on Ronald Reagan while undetected, showcasing that the submarine was in a position to sink the carrier.

[22] Ronald Reagan returned to Naval Air Station North Island on 20 April 2007, following a three-month deployment in support of operations in the Western Pacific.

An SH-60 helicopter airlifted an Illinois teenager whose appendix had ruptured while on a Mexican cruise to Ronald Reagan, where the ship's surgeon performed an emergency appendectomy.

[25] Working in support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Ronald Reagan and her escorts of CSG 7 focused their efforts on the island of Panay in the Central Visayas.

For eight days, SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and C-2A Greyhound aircraft of the Ronald Reagan CSG helped deliver more than 519,000 lb (235,000 kg) of rice, fresh water, and other supplies to areas of Panay, which were not reachable by truck due to flooded roads.

The CSG arrived in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area on 28 August 2008, where she launched more than 1,150 sorties into Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

[31] On 19 May 2010, Norfolk Naval Shipyard completed the six-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) maintenance cycle on Ronald Reagan.

Refurbishments included high-tech combat systems and firefighting equipment, improved ship's laundry services and living spaces.

[33] Ronald Reagan pulled into Naval Air Station North Island on 19 May 2010 after completing her two-day sea trial, marking the official end to the ship's six-month PIA maintenance period.

Ronald Reagan's air department was assessed on the ability to maintain a fully operational flight deck and respond to simulated mishaps.

On 11 March 2011, Ronald Reagan was in the Korean peninsula region for a long-planned exercise off Korea, but was redirected towards Japan to provide support after the massive 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

On 13 March 2011, the ship measured 0.6 millirem/hr direct gamma shine from clouds 130 miles (≈210 km) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

[47] On 14 January 2014, the Navy announced that Ronald Reagan would replace her sister ship George Washington as the Seventh Fleet forward deployed carrier at Yokosuka, Japan in 2015.

In August, after a short patrol in the Pacific, George Washington docked in Naval Base San Diego alongside Ronald Reagan.

[63] After the short sea trials, Ronald Reagan returned to port, then left again on her annual cruise on 16 May to relieve her sister ship Carl Vinson, which had been deployed near North Korea in light of political tensions.

[69] On 8 September she departed Yokosuka again to conduct patrols off Korea after the North Korean missile launch over Japan and nuclear test.

[75][76] On 29 October, Ronald Reagan scrambled an undisclosed number of Super Hornets to intercept two Russian Tu-95MS bombers that were heading towards the carrier on a Tokyo Express flight near Japan.

[82][83][84] On 22 November, a C-2A Greyhound cargo plane of VRC-30 with 11 crew and passengers aboard crashed into the Philippine Sea 145 km northwest of Okinotorishima while flying from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to the carrier.

President Joe Biden exchanged words with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping over Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which was only a possibility at that point.

[124] On 4 August 2022, United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced that Ronald Reagan had been ordered to remain in the vicinity of Taiwan in response to missile launches conducted by China, which in turn were a response to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

[128][129] In April 2023 the Commander, Naval Air Forces announced that USS George Washington would again be homeported at Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan and would relieve Ronald Reagan beginning in 2024.

Ronald Reagan will depart Yokosuka and relocate to Bremerton, Washington, to conduct a scheduled Drydocking at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

[131] In May 2024, the ship left Yokosuka for her final patrol as the US Navy's only forward deployed carrier in advance of her homeport change to Naval Base Kitsap.