CORONADO, Calif. — More than 4,500 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln returned to their home port in San Diego Bay on Thursday, concluding a historic deployment marked by intensive combat operations in the Middle East and record-setting stretches at sea.
Families and friends waving American flags lined the pier at Naval Air Station North Island for hours to welcome loved ones who had been away for more than 10 months. The aircraft carrier completed either 321 or 322 days deployed, according to network news accounts, ranking as the second-longest aircraft carrier deployment since the Cold War. The deployment also included 265 consecutive days without a port call, setting a record for uninterrupted time at sea in naval history.
Dozens of service members met their newborn children for the first time on Thursday. Capt. Daniel Keeler, the commanding officer of the Lincoln, noted that 122 fathers across the ship and its associated air wing had babies born while they were deployed overseas.
Combat operations and presidential citation
The carrier left California in November and reached the Middle East in January to support military operations against Iran, where U.S. and Israeli forces began launching airstrikes on Feb. 28. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to the ship on Wednesday prior to its docking to present the crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest collective honor for military units.
According to the citation read by Hegseth, the Lincoln carrier strike group completed nearly 3,700 combat missions, expended 1.37 million pounds of ordnance, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, intercepted 77 attack drones, sank 64 Iranian naval vessels and took out 21 anti-ship cruise missiles.
Hegseth acknowledged extending the carrier’s mission twice during the conflict, telling the crew that President Donald Trump maintained confidence in their effectiveness. In August, the USS George Washington arrived in the Middle East to relieve the Lincoln, allowing the vessel to transit back across the Pacific with stops in Thailand and Guam.
Scrutiny over shipboard conditions
The prolonged tour of duty drew sharp scrutiny in Washington after relatives and lawmakers raised concerns regarding deteriorating living conditions, supply issues and crew morale. Families reported sporadic communications, broken plumbing and shortages of food and hygiene necessities during the height of operations.
Pentagon leadership initially defended conditions aboard the 36-year-old carrier. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao later told lawmakers that while four balanced meals were served daily, combat requirements had constrained resupply windows and temporarily cut meal selections from two options to one.
Cao also disclosed in correspondence with Congress that eight sailors in the roughly 6,000-person strike group attempted suicide during the deployment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988.
Keeler characterized the maintenance issues as typical for a large warship operating under heavy demands, comparing the carrier to a floating city where routine mechanical failures occur. Hegseth also dismissed portrayals of dysfunction, praising the crew for adapting to adversity.
What happens next
With the Lincoln secured at its pier, crew members begin long-awaited leave periods and reunions with family across the country. Navy officials have not yet announced the maintenance timetable or future operating schedule for the carrier, while congressional committees continue to review the psychological toll and physical strains imposed on service members by extended combat deployments.
