Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers remarks during a troop engagement with Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, Carolina, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 8, 2025. Senior Airman Gisselle Toro Caraballo/U.S. Air National Guard
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will welcome the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln back to the United States on Oct. 7 after an extended deployment in the Middle East.
The Department of War announced on Tuesday that Hegseth will travel to San Diego to welcome the crew members of the aircraft carrier home. Hegseth will also participate in physical training, eat lunch with military members in the area, and speak with the Lincoln’s crew.
The Lincoln was deployed from San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025. The nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier stopped in Guam in December, then in January began operating in the waters of the Middle East, providing support for U.S. forces throughout the conflict with Iran after the Trump administration launched Operation Epic Fury in February.
In August, the Lincoln was relieved by the USS George Washington following reports of American sailors facing mental health challenges and deteriorating conditions.
The Lincoln was at sea for 286 days without a port call before it arrived in Thailand on Sept. 2. After completing the port call, the ship embarked on its return voyage to the United States. The aircraft carrier will reach San Diego on Wednesday with roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines on board, arriving 320 days after the start of its deployment.
During the Lincoln’s time in the Middle East, some media outlets reported that sailors were subjected to deteriorating conditions. Reports also circulated that the crew had experienced a spike in suicidal thoughts, and that sailors had died in a brawl.
U.S. Central Command denied the allegations as false claims by media outlets and said the aircraft carrier had one of the highest crew reenlistment rates in the Navy.
Responding to concerns regarding conditions aboard the Lincoln, Hegseth told reporters on Aug. 13 that the issue had been “completely misrepresented.”
“Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” he said. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.”
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao told Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, in a Sept. 22 letter that there were eight suicide attempts by U.S. Navy sailors on the Lincoln and its supporting strike group during its deployment.
In addition, Cao said that one sailor assigned to the Lincoln’s air wing went overboard in early August but was recovered, received medical treatment, and was transferred for additional care off the ship. He told Gillibrand that another sailor had attempted to go overboard in March but was stopped by other sailors.
Despite the lengthy deployment, Cao said the sailors assigned to the Lincoln strike group showed “exceptional resolve under demanding conditions.”
“Operational decisions to extend deployments are never made lightly; they are driven by dynamic global security environments and absolute necessity of protecting U.S. national security interests and our personnel and our allies abroad,” he wrote.
Following Cao’s letter, a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers visited the Lincoln at sea on Sept. 27 to conduct in-person oversight of conditions onboard.
“Oversight can’t wait until the USS Abraham Lincoln comes home to San Diego. We deserve answers and accountability now,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement following the visit.
The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. Navy and the White House for comment. The White House referred questions to U.S. Central Command, which did not respond in time for publication.
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