The USS Abraham Lincoln has returned to San Diego after one of the US Navy’s longest carrier deployments, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth presenting its crew with the Presidential Unit Citation.
The award is the highest honour a US military unit can receive and is generally reserved for significant achievement in combat. Hegseth flew to the carrier on Wednesday to recognise its service during the war against Iran.
He rejected attempts to portray the Lincoln as a failure, saying there had been efforts to make it “some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission”.
“What makes the U.S. military and the U.S. Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt and that you’re resilient and you overcome — you finish the mission nonetheless,” he told the crew.
Hegseth said President Donald Trump had “tracked your activities from day one and couldn’t be more proud of what you executed.”
USS Abraham Lincoln deployment brought scrutiny
The carrier left San Diego in November and reached the Middle East in January. US and Israeli forces began airstrikes against Iran on February 28.
Its prolonged deployment attracted national attention after reports of stress among sailors, poor mental health and shortages of food and hygiene products. The Navy initially played down concerns, while Mr Trump said in August that the deployment was “not nearly long enough”.
Navy leaders later acknowledged that some problems had arisen. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the ship had retained adequate food supplies, but that combat operations had restricted opportunities to resupply and temporarily reduced meal choices from two to one.
He said four nutritionally balanced meals were served each day. After more than 10 months at sea, the crew stopped in Thailand early last month while travelling back from the Middle East.
Record deployment placed strain on crew
Long periods at sea can increase pressure on service personnel and place additional demands on a ship and its equipment. The Navy told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide during the deployment, although experts said that figure was low for a strike group of about 6,000 sailors over 10 months.
The citation read by Hegseth said the Lincoln and its strike group had carried out 3,693 combat missions and delivered 1.37 million pounds of ordnance. The group also launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones and sank 64 Iranian warships, according to the citation.
It also said the force destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles and defended against four fast-attack craft and explosive-carrying ships.
The Lincoln is the second aircraft carrier to complete an unusually long deployment in support of the war against Iran and receive the Presidential Unit Citation afterwards.
The USS Gerald R. Ford returned from a 326-day deployment in May, the longest aircraft-carrier deployment in the past 50 years and a record for the post-Vietnam War era. The USS George Washington, normally based in Asia, relieved the Lincoln in the Middle East in August.
