"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". This deployment included counter-drug operations in the Caribbean Sea, crew exchanges and exercises with Latin American and South American navies, and port visits for the carrier and strike group, which consisted of the cruiser , the destroyer , and the frigate . The first of these port visits took place from 14–17 April in St. Maarten, and Antigua from 15–18 May. She returned to Norfolk on 24 May.