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 the US national anthem was publicly played. After leaving Rio, "Ronald Reagan" transited the Strait of Magellan on 20–21 June and subsequently made port visits to Valparaíso, Chile, and Callao, Peru, before arriving in San Diego on 23 July 2004. From 1 October 2004, "Ronald Reagan" was assigned to Carrier Strike Group Fifteen. "Ronald Reagan", now with Terry B. Kraft in command, departed San Diego on 4 January 2006, on her maiden deployment to conduct naval operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as to conduct maritime security operations in the Persian Gulf. On