CORONADO, Calif. — The USS Theodore Roosevelt departed Naval Air Station North Island Monday for its new homeport in Bremerton, Washington.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, which has called San Diego home since 2015, will be dry-docked for maintenance and upgrades and will be retrofitted with the newest high-tech military wonders, like the F-35C fighter jet.

The ship is expected to be in maintenance yards for at least 16 months, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. When it returns to active duty, it will be only the third in its class to be equipped with the state-of-the-art military power, joining the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Approximately 3,000 sailors and their families will relocate from San Diego to Bremerton.

The aircraft carrier returned to San Diego on May 25 following a 5-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific region.

During the ship’s deployment in 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak onboard the ship resulted in more than 1,200 sailors testing positive for the virus. Capt. Brett Crozier was fired after sounding the alarm about the virus’ spread.

Navy officials said Crozier had gone outside the chain of command and wasn’t careful enough in sharing an urgent message about the outbreak, which leaked to media. His crew had a different reaction, cheering and chanting the captain’s name as he exited the ship.

The ship was the fourth to be named after the 26th president of the United States. It was launched in 1984, though it didn’t see action until 1991 during Operation Desert Storm.