CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — After more than 10 months at sea, thousands of sailors returned from the USS Abraham Lincoln on San Diego Bay on Thursday, greeted by cheers and emotional reunions. This homecoming included new fathers meeting their babies born during the deployment, which supported operations related to the Iran conflict.
Families described a challenging period, with reports of supply shortages and mental health concerns among the crew during the record 265 days of continuous deployment. Communication with families was limited to occasional emails and rare WhatsApp calls.
Abel Ramirez, 20, expressed relief at the end of his first deployment, stating, "It feels amazing" as he searched for his parents who traveled from Texas. Cassity Garduque, 14, expressed her joy at seeing her mother again after missing significant events like her birthday.
Capt. Daniel Keeler, the ship's commander, noted that most of the crew were on their first deployment and that the challenges faced were typical for such an extended mission. He stated that everyone had access to four meals a day, despite the ship's issues.
Initially, the Navy downplayed problems during the deployment, but later acknowledged some difficulties. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented the crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive. Hegseth emphasized the resilience of the crew and pushed back against narratives portraying the Lincoln as a symbol of dysfunction.
The Lincoln's deployment was the second longest for a carrier during the Iran conflict, following the USS Gerald R. Ford, which returned in May after a 326-day deployment. The Lincoln's deployment lasted 322 days.
Among the first to disembark were 64 fathers meeting their newborns for the first time. Sailor Kathy Monterrosa, holding her 6-month-old daughter, expressed relief at having her family reunited after worrying about conditions on the ship during her pregnancy.
Sailor Steven Rivas shared his overwhelming emotions upon returning home to his 7-month-old daughter. Other sailors looked forward to enjoying meals they had missed, with one sailor's wife mentioning a list of foods he craved after months at sea.
The carrier departed San Diego in November, arriving in the Middle East in January, where U.S. and Israeli forces conducted airstrikes against Iran on February 28. In August, the acting Navy Secretary stated that the Lincoln maintained adequate food supplies, although combat operations limited resupply opportunities.
The Lincoln's crew had a brief stop in Thailand on their return journey. The Navy reported that eight sailors attempted suicide during the deployment, a figure considered low for a strike group of 6,000 sailors over such a long period.
According to the citation read by Hegseth, the Lincoln and its strike group conducted nearly 3,700 combat missions, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones, sank 64 Iranian warships, and destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles. The USS George Washington relieved the Lincoln in the Middle East in August.