By ALISON BATH STARS AND STRIPES Published 7 hours ago · Updated 1 hour ago
SAN DIEGO — Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returned home on Thursday, ending a grueling Middle East deployment for thousands of sailors and Marines, who ultimately received the military’s highest unit award for valor in combat. Lincoln was welcomed home by hundreds of family members and friends at Naval Air Station North Island after a nearly 11-month deployment that tested the crew’s resilience while weighing heavily on their worried families. Families gathered with excitement on the pier to welcome the crew home after the deployment which included 286 consecutive days at sea without a port call, a modern-day record. Carla Smith, the mother of a Lincoln sailor, said her son had arrived two weeks ago as a part of the ship’s security. She was waiting with another mother to welcome the Lincoln home. “They are all heroes,” Smith said. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group sailors and Marines met every challenge of the deployment with professionalism, quiet resilience and sustained excellence, said Rear Adm. Robert Loughran, strike group commander, speaking pier side to reporters. He added that the strike group’s successful deployment could not have been possible without the support of families and friends back home. “They bore an extraordinary burden during these 10 months,” Loughran said. “Their patience, sacrifice, steadfast support were the foundation of every mission we accomplished.” The Lincoln’s arrival just before noon was met with an eruption of shouting from family members. Water cannons went off nearby, while helicopters whizzed overhead. Vendors selling merchandise, food trucks and other festivities added to the homecoming celebration. A USS Abraham Lincoln sailor embraces a baby on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, after a nearly 11-month deployment operating in the Pacific and Middle East. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes) But the long-anticipated day was overwhelming for some service members who endured months at sea and two deployment extensions and were struggling to process their emotions. “I don’t think any of this will hit for me until I’m off the ship,” one service member told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday. “But nothing I look forward to more than getting off this ship.” Stars and Stripes is withholding the sailor’s identity due to concerns of reprisal. Lincoln left San Diego in November for a routine deployment to the Pacific, was redirected to the Middle East and finished with 322 days, counting Thursday, away from its homeport. Most of that time was spent underway, including more than 200 days in a combat zone and a record-breaking number of days at sea without a port call. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the carrier and presented a Presidential Unit Citation to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group “for extraordinary heroism against enemy forces.” “You have changed the arc of history, ensuring that crazy people, theocrats, never get a nuclear weapon,” Hegseth said, citing contributions in support of Operation Epic Fury following the joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran in February, and, later, Overseas Operations. Among the carrier strike group’s achievements: sustaining 40 days of continuous combat operations and helping enforce a maritime blockade of Iranian ports. Those efforts included 3,693 combat flights, sinking 64 Iranian warships, launching 450 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles and shooting down 77 one-way aerial attack drones, a demonstration of service member grit, determination and professionalism in battle. The accomplishments came without the loss of lives or aircraft and no combat damage, said Capt. Daniel Keeler, commander of Lincoln, speaking with reporters. “Every single sailor and Marine that left on this deployment is going home,” Keeler said. “That’s legendary, legendary performance by this team.” But the deployment also was marked by challenges. The Lincoln crew endured food and water shortages, disrupted mail service and long workdays with little time off as the Navy scrambled to address logistical challenges. Those and other problems eventually were worked out, but sailors struggled with exhaustion and declining morale, including reports of suicidal thoughts. In August, Stars and Stripes reported family member concerns about the mental health of Lincoln sailors and Marines. At the time, the carrier had logged more than 250 consecutive days at sea.
USS Abraham Lincoln returns to San Diego on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, after a nearly 11-month deployment operating in the Pacific and Middle East. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes) The concerns first detailed in that reporting drew subsequent coverage from Navy Times and other news organizations. The issue also drew the attention of U.S. lawmakers, some of whom demanded an investigation into conditions aboard the carrier. President Donald Trump also dismissed reports about conditions aboard the Lincoln, saying family members were not worried about living conditions and mental health. Hegseth said at the time that reports about the Lincoln were “completely misrepresented.” But the Navy ultimately sent aircraft carrier USS George Washington to relieve Lincoln, which left the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in late August, subsequently making a port call in Thailand and a logistics stop in Guam. Last month, acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao revealed in a letter to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that eight sailors assigned to the Lincoln strike group had attempted suicide during the deployment. The strike group includes Carrier Air Wing 9 and other ships, including the destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr., which returned home to Hawaii on Monday after 301 days at sea. Lincoln made a port call in Thailand and a logistics stop in Guam before the ship headed home. Thursday’s homecoming was a welcome relief from a deployment that was difficult for families to watch, Smith said. But much work remains in bettering the lives of deployed sailors, she said. “There needs to be a reevaluation … and improvements made,” said Smith, adding that she had “hope” the Navy would make necessary changes. Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returns to its homeport of San Diego on Oct. 8, 2026. (Aaron Rolle/U.S. Navy) NAVYSHIPSFEATURED ON INSTAGRAM Alison Bath reports on the U.S. Navy, including U.S. 6th Fleet, in Europe and Africa. She has reported for a variety of publications in Montana, Nevada and Louisiana, and served as editor of newspapers in Louisiana, Oregon and Washington. PREVIOUS COVERAGE ‘Legendary performance’: Scenes from USS Abraham Lincoln’s homecoming Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group receives military’s highest unit-level award for valor in battle Abraham Lincoln strike group destroyer returns home after 301 days at sea 8 service members in Lincoln strike group attempted suicide on recent deployment USS Abraham Lincoln leaves Guam after brief respite from lengthy deployment USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group departs Thailand after port call USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand for first full port visit after 286 days at sea Thailand stop to give USS Abraham Lincoln crew first regular port visit in months USS Abraham Lincoln departs Mideast after taxing deployment Navy secretary calls reports of Lincoln crew struggles ‘dishonest’ USS Abraham Lincoln families press Navy leaders over sailors’ mental health Navy carrier in Mideast at sea for more than 200 days, testing crew resilience 3 US aircraft carriers in Middle East for first time in decades USS Abraham Lincoln, strike group back in Guam after one year RELATED STORIES Navy ships deploy as Trump weighs renewed strikes on Iran
Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2026-10-08/uss-abraham-lincoln-return-deployment-23092171.html
Source – Stars and Stripes
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