BREAKING: USS Abraham Lincoln Finally Docks After 8 Months at Sea, Longest Combat Deployment in Modern Navy History Under Hegseth
The USS Abraham Lincoln finally made its first port call in more than eight months on Wednesday, its rust-stained hull telling the story of one of the longest deployments in U.S. Navy history
The carrier departed San Diego last November and has spent the entire time since on blockade and combat duty in the war with Iran, a record-setting stretch that Senator Richard Blumenthal says represents the modern-day record for consecutive days at sea during combat. It came at a real cost. CNN has reported widespread morale problems among the 5,000-person crew, including at least one possible suicide attempt.
Blumenthal wrote directly to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month demanding answers. “There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns,” he wrote, adding that care packages meant for sailors had been lost in transit for months due to mail disruptions.
Hegseth’s response wasn’t to fix the problem. It was to dismiss the reporting, claiming conditions aboard the Lincoln had been “completely misrepresented,” without ever specifying what exactly was wrong with the coverage. Trump went further, calling the deployment “not nearly long enough” when asked about it directly.
Shortly after the problems went public, the Pentagon quietly moved the Japan-based USS George Washington to the Middle East to relieve the Lincoln, pulling one of the Navy’s largest warships away from East Asia in the process. Critics say that shuffle exposed real capacity problems in a Navy stretched too thin, leaving fewer resources to signal deterrence to China and North Korea while Hegseth’s Pentagon kept the Lincoln at sea far past reasonable limits.
Even the Navy’s own Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Daryle Caudle, acknowledged the strain. “I would prefer, you know, seven-month deployments. I typically am not a big fan of extensions, and I push back hard on that. But the enemy gets a vote,” he told reporters last week, a rare admission from inside the chain of command that the current pace isn’t sustainable.
A crew that endured contaminated water, plumbing failures, and eight straight months of combat finally got to dock. It took a public outcry, a whistleblower-style letter from a senator, and quiet admissions from the Navy’s own leadership to get them there.