The USS Preble, the only Navy destroyer outfitted with a high-energy laser capable of shooting down drones and missiles, has left San Diego for Yokosuka, Japan, where it will be homeported for the foreseeable future to protect American interests in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East. The Navy said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile ship sailed out of San Diego Bay on Sunday and will replace the destroyer USS Benfold, which is relocating to Everett, Washington. The Preble is part of a decades-long practice of rotating ships in and out of Japan, a U.S. ally that is physically located in a spot that permits the Navy to quickly dispatch warships to potential trouble spots, such as the waters off China. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington has spent the past couple of months operating out of San Diego in preparation for a permanent move to Yokosuka. Such carriers are the centerpiece of America’s forward-deployed forces in Japan. Destroyers routinely serve as escorts for carriers. As the Preble was leaving, the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was en route back to San Diego, its homeport. The Navy said the TR, as it’s also known, made a brief stop in Guam on Wednesday. The flattop is expected to reach San Diego in early October following a long deployment in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East.