USS Ronald Reagan Efficiency "E" award for the West Coast, the first Battle "E" ever for the carrier. "Ronald Reagan" returned to Naval Air Station North Island on 20 April 2007, following the three-month deployment in support of operations in the Western Pacific. On 15 December 2007, the carrier answered a distress call from a cruise ship off the coast of Baja California. An Illinois teenager whose appendix had ruptured while on a Mexican cruise was airlifted by an SH-60 helicopter to "Ronald Reagan", where an emergency appendectomy was performed by the ship's surgeon. USS "Ronald Reagan", with CVW-14 embarked, departed San Diego
USS Ronald Reagan January 2007 on an unscheduled surge deployment to the Western Pacific, fulfilling the role of the forward deployed carrier while it underwent maintenance in Japan. On 20 April 2007, "Ronald Reagan" and her CSG returned to Coronado. The "surge deployment" was part of the Navy's Fleet Response Plan, which provides the US with the ability to respond to any global commitment with flexible and sustainable forces and the ability to rapidly respond to a range of situations on short notice. In January 2007, it was announced that "Ronald Reagan" had earned the 2006 Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific Carrier Battle