The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is due back in San Diego Thursday, a homecoming that marks an end to a deployment of more than 10 months that included combat operations, supply shortages and more than 260 consecutive days at sea.
The morale issues among the embarked crew brought on by the arduous nature of this deployment reportedly contributed to at least one sailor jumping overboard.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told Congress last month eight service members in the Lincoln's battle group attempted suicide — a number that is close to the suicide attempt rate Navy-wide in 2024, according to a Defense Department report.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke with sailors on the carrier's flight deck Wednesday off the San Diego coast. He said he was responsible for twice extending their deployment and praised the crew's resilience.
"There were a few folks in the media who tried to turn the USS Abraham Lincoln into some sort of a symbol — a symbol of dysfunction, or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission," Hegseth said. "I know it's the exact opposite."
Hegseth told the crew the news media often sees "success" as a symbol of things gone wrong.
"They see success, and they see excellence, and they see difficulty and challenge that needs to be overcome ... and they want to ... point at it as, as a symbol of something that was missed or wrong," he said.
The Lincoln left San Diego Nov. 21 and two months later the ship was conducting operations in the Middle East.
Aircraft from the Lincoln were among the first to strike Iran when Israel and the U.S. launched its war on the country Feb. 28. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets, including a major supply base in Bahrain.
First 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury:
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2026
“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” - Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM Commander pic.twitter.com/McrC7xeM0A
The first reports of trouble on the Lincoln came in April when USA Today reported the crew wasn't being provided with fresh fruits or vegetables.
In August, MSNOW reported low morale on the ship tied to shortages of food, personal hygiene products and delayed mail delivery. It also reported multiple sailors attempted to jump overboard.
According to The New York Times, the supply shortages were due to the effectiveness of Iran's strikes on the base in Bahrain. The Navy had to rely on its base on Diego Garcia for resupply.
Diego Garcia is a tiny spit of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean thousands of miles from where the Lincoln was conducting operations.
A Pentagon Inspector General's report last month confirmed the resupply issues caused by Iran's attacks.
In August, the Navy deployed the Japan-based carrier USS George Washington to relieve the Lincoln in the wake of the reports of problems on board.
On Sept. 2, the Lincoln visited Pattaya, Thailand. It was the first time the ship was known to be pier-side since a one-day stop in Guam Dec. 11 — a span of 264 days.
Another San Diego-based carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, left San Diego last month for deployment to the Middle East — one Navy leaders said could also span at least eight months.
Aircraft carrier deployments have seen several extensions over the last few years. This year the Virginia-based USS Gerald Ford returned home after a deployment of almost 11 months.
CNN reported carriers have routinely surpassed the recommended seven-month deployment length since the October 2023 Hamas attacks against Israel.
It's not just carriers — the San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance left on deployment with the Lincoln in November. The crew of about 320 sailors are still deployed, their last location reportedly being the Indian Ocean.
