SAN DIEGO — The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is returning home to San Diego after a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea supporting the Iran war, The Associated Press reported.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to the carrier Wednesday to award the crew the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive.
Hegseth pushed back on efforts to make the Lincoln “a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission.” He told the crew that President Donald Trump “tracked your activities from day one.”
The carrier drew national attention over reports of crew stress, poor mental health and shortages of food and hygiene products. The Navy initially downplayed the problems but later acknowledged some issues, the AP reported. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said meal options were briefly cut from two to one.
The Navy told lawmakers eight sailors attempted suicide during the deployment.
According to the citation, the Lincoln and its strike group carried out 3,693 combat missions, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones and sank 64 Iranian warships.
The Lincoln left San Diego in November and reached the Middle East in January. It is the second carrier to receive the citation after an unusually long deployment in the war, following the USS Gerald R. Ford’s 326-day deployment.
Sources: KTAR News/AP. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
