Pour one out for The Jolly J

Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 (VS26) concluded on 1 July, stretching across the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan, and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex. It was an impressive assemblage of vessels, built around the GW and Kaga carrier groups with support from other Pacific allies. Think of it as a warm-up for RIMPAC, which is just warming up. U.S. Navy aircraft, attached to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, and U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs fly over U.S. Navy George Washington Carrier Strike Group as it sails in formation with Japan Maritime Self- Defense Force as part of Valiant Shield 2026 while underway in the Philippine Sea, June 21, 2026. U.S. Navy participants include Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62), Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Shoup (DDG 86) and USS Benfold (DDG 65), and Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN 783). Japan Maritime…