On October 8, the US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln entered its home port of San Diego, California, after completing an ultra-long 321-day deployment.
AP reported that day that US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the Lincoln the day before its scheduled arrival in San Diego and presented the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) to units of the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG). The PUC is the highest unit-level honor a US military unit can receive, typically awarded to units that have demonstrated extraordinary heroism in combat.
The Lincoln CSG is a unit that drew controversy during this deployment after eight suicide attempts occurred among its personnel, with reports of severe mental health deterioration and plummeting morale. The unit also experienced supply shortages.
The Lincoln departed San Diego in November 2025 and arrived in the Middle East in January. It was initially expected to return home by this summer, but its deployment was extended due to the Iran war. After more than 10 months on mission, the Lincoln’s crew was given a chance to rest with a port call in Thailand in early September. According to AP, the Lincoln had conducted operations at sea for 265 days before its port call in Thailand, the longest consecutive period without a port call in aircraft carrier history.
A US Navy CSG typically consists of one nuclear-powered supercarrier, 65–70 carrier-based aircraft, two Aegis cruisers, three Aegis destroyers or frigates, two attack nuclear submarines (SSNs), and supply ships. Total personnel is approximately 7,500.
AP reported that the Navy recently told Congress that eight sailors across the entire Lincoln CSG attempted suicide during the long deployment. Experts analyzed that considering a 6,000-strong carrier strike group conducted missions for 10 months, this figure is relatively low.
According to the citation read by Secretary Hegseth, the Lincoln CSG conducted 3,693 combat sorties, expended 1.37 million pounds of ordnance and 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, sank 64 Iranian warships, and shot down 77 attack drones.
Currently, two US aircraft carriers are deployed in the Middle East. The USS George Washington, normally based in the Asia region, took over the Lincoln’s mission in August. Another aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, has been on deployment for about six months and recently made a port call in Phuket, Thailand. According to AP, US officials said the third aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, could join the George Washington and George H.W. Bush as early as the end of this month.
