The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has left the Middle East and begun the long voyage back to its homeport of San Diego, closing out a nine-month deployment that became one of the most scrutinized in recent Navy history. A U.S. official confirmed to The New York Times that the carrier’s departure began Thursday, bringing an end to 272 consecutive days at sea for a crew of roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines who endured supply shortages, water and plumbing problems, and deteriorating conditions that drew sustained criticism from congressional Democrats and the families of those aboard.
The Lincoln’s departure had been signaled days earlier. Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command, alluded to the ship’s imminent return in an opinion essay published in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, writing that he wished the crew “Godspeed and enjoy the well-deserved reunion soon.” On Thursday, Central Command confirmed that the carrier’s replacement, the Japan-based USS George Washington, had arrived in the region and begun operating under the command’s control the day before.
The Lincoln departed San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025, and spent virtually the entirety of its deployment underway, with only a brief stop in Guam in December and a resupply visit to Oman breaking up the stretch. The ship was initially assigned to a separate deployment before being redirected toward the Middle East in January to support American operations ahead of the war against Iran, which began in earnest on Feb. 28 with the launch of Operation Epic Fury.
For the thousands of sailors aboard, the deployment stretched well beyond what had originally been planned. The cruise had initially been expected to run about seven months, with a return anticipated in May, but it was repeatedly extended as the conflict with Iran continued. By the time it ended, the Lincoln had gone more than 260 days without a single liberty port call, according to a Navy account, making it one of the longest carrier deployments in modern history.
Reports of Deteriorating Conditions Mount
As the deployment dragged on, accounts of hardship aboard the Lincoln became increasingly difficult for the Pentagon to ignore. The disruption stemmed in part from Iran’s destruction of a U.S. Navy logistics hub in Manama, Bahrain, that had served as a key supply point for the fleet, complicating the delivery of food, spare parts and other essentials to ships operating in the region.
Family members told reporters over the summer that sailors described moldy showers, low-quality food, and shortages of basic necessities such as soap and razors. Military-focused outlets Navy Times and Stars and Stripes reported that morale had deteriorated so severely that multiple sailors attempted to jump overboard, and lawmakers separately raised concerns about water contamination, plumbing failures and disruptions to the mail system reaching the ship.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao demanding answers, citing reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system. Blumenthal also noted that the carrier had, at that point, gone more than 200 days without a port call, a stretch he described as a record.
Pentagon and White House Push Back
Hegseth repeatedly rejected the characterization of conditions aboard the ship. Speaking with reporters during a trip to Panama in mid-August, the defense secretary said reports about the Lincoln had been “completely misrepresented,” though he did not specify which details he disputed. He added that every ship and crew was given everything the Pentagon could provide, and praised the sailors for their performance under demanding conditions.
Admiral Cooper offered a similar defense in his Wall Street Journal essay, characterizing many of the complaints about food and hot water as issues that had surfaced months earlier and had since been resolved by the ship’s leadership. Cooper also pushed back on concerns about sailors’ mental health, saying the Lincoln had among the lowest number of related cases of any of the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers.
President Trump likewise downplayed the reports this week, describing the Lincoln’s nearly nine months at sea as a “good period of time” while noting that Navy deployments have run longer in the past. A White House spokesperson said separately that Trump and Hegseth remained committed to ensuring the military had the resources it needed to counter any threat facing the United States.
A Planned Rotation, Long Delayed
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao formally announced the Lincoln’s coming return on Aug. 14, framing it as part of a scheduled rotation. “The USS Abraham Lincoln crushed their deployment and will return home soon as part of a planned rotation,” Cao said in a statement, as the George Washington transited the Strait of Malacca en route to the region.
Navy leadership had told families at an in-person town hall at Naval Air Station North Island on Aug. 6 that a relief carrier was en route, though the identity of that replacement shifted in the days that followed; officials initially indicated the San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt would take over before the Japan-based George Washington was confirmed for the assignment instead.
Not everyone deployed alongside the Lincoln has received the same clarity. Three guided-missile destroyers escorting the carrier strike group — the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy and the USS Spruance, carrying roughly 1,000 additional sailors — were not mentioned in the Navy’s announcement of the carrier’s return, despite having been deployed alongside the Lincoln since late 2025.
Regional Mission Continues Without the Lincoln
The Lincoln’s departure does not mark an end to U.S. naval operations in the region. The Navy continues to maintain about 20 warships in the Middle East outside the Persian Gulf, including carrier strike groups built around the USS George H.W. Bush and now the George Washington, an amphibious ready group carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit, and destroyers enforcing the blockade of Iranian ports that President Trump ordered, which had entered its 38th day as of the Lincoln’s departure.
Hegseth has said the blockade can be sustained “indefinitely,” and while hostilities between Washington and Tehran have eased in recent weeks, the administration has offered little clarity on how or when it intends to wind the conflict down.
The Long Way Home
The Lincoln now faces a journey of roughly 13,000 miles back to San Diego, a trip the Navy estimates will take four to five weeks. No official return date or planned port stop along the way had been announced as of Thursday. For the families who have spent the better part of a year following reports about conditions aboard the ship, the homecoming will bring a different kind of anticipation — one shaped as much by relief as by the questions that still surround the deployment that preceded it.