The San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to its homeport after a nine-month deployment.
The Japan-based USS George Washington traveled to the Middle East as the Lincoln’s relief.
The return to San Diego will take three to four weeks.
The Lincoln left San Diego in November for a seven-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. However, the 5,000-person crew saw the deployment prolonged to 266 days, and demands increased following the outbreak of conflict with Iran on Feb. 28.
Recently, relatives of crew members shared concerns about sailors’ severe exhaustion, declining mental health and supply shortages.
Still, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said on Aug. 14 that a “small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life.” Cao added that meal plans were adjusted when fresh resupply was unavailable, “without a single meal being missed.” Meanwhile, he said the crew’s calls to their homes were limited when the operational threat was too high.
Cao said the Lincoln spent 200 days in a combat zone.
“There is no question our young men and women have been pushed to their limits – but they have never broken,” said the acting secretary of the Navy in a press release. “They are rightly tired – but have never been out of the fight. However, it is clear, knowing the whole story, our force and their families are not victims. They are the epitome of American strength and resilience.”
“When the USS Abraham Lincoln pulls into the pier, join me and stand proudly with a grateful heart and give our Sailors and Marines the Hero’s Welcome they deserve,” said Cao.
The Center Square reached out to Navy Base San Diego for additional comments, but did not hear back by publication time.
