USS Abraham Lincoln Set To Finish 320 Days At Sea In The Second Longest Deployment Since Vietnam

The U.S. Navy’s 5th Nimitz-class Aircraft Carrier is returning to its homeport in California after a 320-day long deployment in the Iranian theatre.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will welcome the crew of the warship when it reaches American waters after more than ten months. He will also speak to the officers and dine with the crew, according to sources.

The warship departed Naval Station San Diego in November last year and joined the military effort in the Gulf after the Iran war began in February, when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on the Islamic Republic.

Families of the crew had been worried due to supply shortages and reports of poor sanitary conditions on the vessel. Even mail was not being delivered on time, and the sailors were not able to speak to their loved ones at the peak of the conflict when Iran attacked the naval base in Bahrain.

There were reports of deteriorating mental health conditions and depression among the crew, with a few media outlets reporting that at least two sailors attempted to jump overboard.

A few sailors had also reportedly told their families about the lack of adequate mental health professionals onboard and an absence of psychiatric help during the long deployment without a single port call.

After mounting pressure from families and senators, the Pentagon announced the end of the deployment, and the carrier arrived in Thailand for its first port call in more than 260 days. It stayed there for a week before resuming its journey to America.

Abraham Lincoln was just a few days short of breaking the record for the longest deployment, stretching 326 days, which is held by USS Gerald R.Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world.

Amidst the return of Abraham Lincoln, Sen. Ruben Gallego has called for a probe into why there were supply failures during the deployment and the mental health issues that the sailors had to face alone without any support from the authorities.

He has also requested the inspector general of the Defense Department to conduct an independent investigation into the causes of food shortages onboard.

Usually, aircraft carriers are deployed for 6-7 months and stop at a port every 30 to 45 days to get supplies and undergo repairs and maintenance.

If sailors do not set foot on land for longer periods, it can affect their mental health, and combined with shortages of basic supplies, it can be truly devastating, breaking their morale.