USS Lincoln Returns to San Diego After Nine-Month Middle East Deployment

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is heading home to San Diego after a nine-month deployment in the Middle East supporting operations related to Iran, with about 5,000 sailors aboard and more than 250 days at sea. The mission was extended beyond its May endpoint, and families have described deteriorating conditions—food and mail shortages and concerns about mental health—though CENTCOM officials have downplayed a broader crisis and noted improvements. Lincoln has not visited a port since December, and a sister carrier, USS George Washington, has arrived in the region to begin its own deployment.