USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Pete Hegseth Welcomes USS Abraham Lincoln Back to San Diego After Deployment
Deployment lasted about ten months with a record 265 days at sea between port calls. Returns to San Diego as homeport, docking near NAS North Island.
Lincoln Returns to San Diego
The USS Abraham Lincoln returned to its home port in San Diego on Thursday after a lengthy deployment that included questions about the mental health of the ship’s crew and supply problems. The Nimitz-class carrier deployed in November 2025, was rerouted to the Middle East in February after the war with Iran began, and spent 286 days at sea without a port call. The ship began its journey back on August 21 after being relieved by the USS George Washington, and it docked at Naval Air Station North Island at noon Thursday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the USS Abraham Lincoln as it arrived to port to welcome the crew, and he told sailors on the flight deck that he had extended their deployment twice. Hegseth also announced that the Lincoln carrier strike group was being awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, and he said the group’s air operations included “10,000 sorties, 23,000 combat flight hours, almost 4,000 combat sorties, 1.5 million pounds of ordinance dropped on the enemy.”
Suicide Attempts and Competing Narratives
The Navy reported eight suicide attempts aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during the deployment, including one sailor who jumped overboard and was later rescued.
NBC News reported that a letter sent to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand by Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed at least eight service members attempted suicide during the many months at sea, and it said no deaths on the ship had been attributed to suicide.
Captain Dan Keeler told reporters at a news conference that “there were no suicides on board,” and he said the “suicide attempt number” was meant to be “zero.”
Hegseth accused the news media of trying to turn the USS Abraham Lincoln into “some sort of a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale, or a symbol of a failed mission,” and he said “I know it’s the exact opposite.”
Awards, Operations, and What’s Next
Hegseth told sailors that the Lincoln carrier strike group had logged 3,693 combat sorties and fired 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, and he said the group shot down 77 Iranian one-way attack drones and 21 anti-ship cruise missiles.
“One of the protest signs read: ‘Welcome home. They deserve something better.’”
The Hill reported that Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand that eight sailors assigned to the Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during the deployment, and it said the end of the deployment would allow some families to see loved ones for the first time.
The Navy said the Lincoln’s experience would help improve conditions for future extended missions, including increasing reserves of food, hygiene products, and ship-store items, and converting available spaces into storage areas.
Adm. Daryl Caudle said the crew was converting available spaces into additional storage to remain self-sufficient longer when resupply may be difficult, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman said a specialized team would inspect and optimize climate control systems.
Times of San Diego said the USS Abraham Lincoln’s arrival followed a record 265-day continuous deployment at sea, and it quoted a protest sign reading “Welcome home. They deserve something better.”