The long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln returns home to San Diego from Middle East
The aircraft carrier’s 265-day Iran war mission was marked by reports of supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among the crew
The USS Abraham Lincoln is returning home to San Diego Bay Thursday after supporting the Iran war during a record-long deployment of 265 uninterrupted days at sea that included reports of deteriorating conditions among its crew.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth flew out to the carrier on Wednesday to give the crew the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honour a unit can receive that is typically reserved for significant achievement in combat.
Hegseth pushed back against what he said were efforts to turn the “Lincoln into some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission”.
He said “what makes the US military and the US Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt and that you’re resilient and you overcome – you finish the mission nonetheless.”
