USS Abraham Lincoln Returns to San Diego After 322 Days at Sea

Thousands of sailors returned to San Diego Bay aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, ending a 322-day deployment that supported US military operations against Iran. The homecoming in Coronado, California, reunited families after the carrier spent a record 265 consecutive days at sea, with some sailors meeting children born during their absence.

The deployment placed considerable demands on the crew, with families reporting concerns about food supplies, limited communication and deteriorating mental health aboard the ship. According to NPR, sailors had few opportunities to contact relatives, relying largely on occasional emails and infrequent WhatsApp calls.

The Navy said 64 fathers among the sailors leaving the carrier were meeting their babies for the first time. Including the carrier's air wing, Capt. Daniel Keeler said the deployment had produced 122 new fathers.

Abel Ramirez, 20, celebrated the end of his first deployment as he left the ship to find his parents, who had traveled from Texas.

"It feels amazing," Ramirez said.

He described relief after spending months at sea, where the extended deployment kept sailors separated from their families for much of the year.

Fourteen-year-old Cassity Garduque watched her mother, a sailor aboard the carrier, wave from the upper deck as the ship arrived. Her mother's absence had affected important milestones during the school year.

"It feels really overwhelming," Garduque said. "She missed most of my seventh grade and my birthday."

Garduque also welcomed the prospect of spending time together again and said she was glad her mother would no longer have to eat ramen almost every day.

Keeler acknowledged the challenges of maintaining a ship and its crew during such a lengthy deployment. He said most crew members were experiencing their first deployment and characterized the problems as normal for an operation of this duration.

"It's a floating city as you can see and at any moment there might be a clogged toilet," Keeler said.

Keeler also said everyone aboard had access to four meals daily. In August, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said food supplies remained adequate, although combat operations restricted resupply opportunities and temporarily reduced meal choices.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the carrier on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to present the Presidential Unit Citation, one of the US military's highest unit honors. During the ceremony, he praised the crew's ability to continue its mission despite operational difficulties.

"what makes the U.S. military and the U.S. Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt and that you're resilient and you overcome — you finish the mission nonetheless," Hegseth told the crew.

He also rejected attempts to characterize the carrier's experience as evidence of broader institutional problems.

"Lincoln into some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission," Hegseth said, referring to what he described as efforts to portray the ship negatively.

The return followed months of concern among families about conditions aboard the carrier. Kathy Monterrosa, a sailor waiting for her husband with their 6-month-old daughter, Sarahi, said the prolonged separation had been especially difficult during pregnancy.

"She's our deployment baby," Monterrosa said of her daughter.

She described the anxiety she experienced while her husband was away and communication remained limited.

"I was crying a lot and worried. I wasn't sure if he was OK or not," Monterrosa said.

After eventually hearing from her husband, she said he described conditions as "pretty bad." She said the reunion left her feeling grateful to have her family together again.

Sailor Steven Rivas also became emotional as the carrier entered San Diego Bay, where his family waited with their 7-month-old daughter.

"I couldn't grasp the reality of it," Rivas said.

He described the moment the ship approached shore and he realized his family had come to welcome him home.

"seeing everyone and knowing my family was waiting for me," Rivas said.

Alma Solano Velez said her husband had spent months anticipating familiar meals and had mentioned "the lack of food and showers" aboard the ship. Their daughter turned 4 while he was deployed.

The Lincoln departed San Diego in November and reached the Middle East in January. US and Israeli forces began airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28, and the carrier participated in combat operations before the USS George Washington relieved it in the Middle East in August.

According to the Presidential Unit Citation read by Hegseth, the Lincoln and its strike group conducted nearly 3,700 combat missions, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones, sank 64 Iranian warships and destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles.

The Navy also told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide during the deployment. The USS Gerald R. Ford, which returned in May after 326 days at sea, holds the record for the longest aircraft carrier deployment in the past 50 years.