Home at last: USS Abraham Lincoln completes record-setting deployment
To loud cheers of loved ones waiting eagerly and waving American flags, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group returned to its Southern California homeport on Thursday after a record-setting 10-month deployment to the Persian Gulf.
In all, the aircraft carrier spent 321 days on deployment, the second-longest since the end of the Cold War. During the over 300-day deployment, the Lincoln spent a record-setting 265 days on the mission without a port visit, the longest in Naval history.
The longest total deployment was set earlier this year when the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford returned from a 326-day deployment to Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
The Lincoln crew includes nearly 60 fathers, who were meeting for the first time babies born during the deployment.
"We have been holding on for dear life just to get through this deployment," Mackayla Morris, one of thousands of sailors aboard the Lincoln, told ABC News.
The carrier played a pivotal role in the war with Iran, launching thousands of aircraft from its well-worn flight deck. The deployment was also marked by intense combat and reports of deteriorating conditions aboard the vessel.
Precious Amada Aguirre, an information systems technician on the Lincoln, told ABC News that it was the hardest mission she has been on.
"This was a very tough deployment," Aguirre said.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the Lincoln as it made its way to San Diego and addressed the massive crew.
"I realize I'm the only thing standing between you and home," Hegseth said. "I also realized I’m the one -- and I don’t say this lightly, actually I never say this lightly -- but I’m the one who signed that orders book twice to extend you also."
Hegseth added, "I plead guilty, A., because of the incredible effectiveness that you showcased on the battlefield and the necessity. But also B., the mission required it, and C., because President Trump had full faith that you would deliver on behalf of the American people, and you did."
The deployment was mired by dwindling supplies and low morale aboard the Lincoln.
Hegseth denied the reports of deteriorating conditions. But the Navy has acknowledged that the Lincoln strike group has had eight suicide attempts since the start of their extended deployment tied to the war in Iran, according to a letter Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao sent to Congress and obtained by ABC News.
"At any one point, you’ll have individuals experiencing real big highs, real lows, ups and downs," Capt. Dan Keeler, commanding officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln, told ABC News.
Keeler said he knows his crew is ready for its homecoming.
"They’re excited to see their families, and at the same time, on the last day of school, they’re going to say goodbye to the air wing," Keeler said.
An ABC News crew was given a chance to see the 36-year-old aircraft carrier this week after being flown by a Navy Osprey helicopter 50 miles over the Pacific Ocean and touching down on the Lincoln.
William Aduloju, a sailor aboard the aircraft carrier, proudly told ABC News of the part he played during the deployment.
"I was here from the start to the end. At least I know I launched every bird off this deck,” said Aduloju, who helped launch thousands of military flights off the vessel's deck.
