SASEBO, Japan - The Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7 flagship, USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), departed Fleet Activities Sasebo for a scheduled patrol, Aug. 6.

Bonhomme Richard recently competed a four-month selective restricted availability (SRA) period, during which time the ship made renovations and repairs to combat systems, engineering systems and berthings.

The upgrades were made to better serve the Sailors and Marines as they support the mission of security and peace in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.

"We are very excited to get the ship back to sea after a successful maintenance period," said Capt. Jeffrey A. Ward, commanding officer of Bonhomme Richard. "The crew has put in a lot of hard work to make sure this ship is ready to return to sea and operate with our regional partners. I am confident in our ability to carry out any mission required of us."

Bonhomme Richard is forward deployed to Sasebo as part of Amphibious Force 7th Fleet.

Commander, Amphibious Force U.S. 7th Fleet, is the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force, headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, in Japan.