USS Lincoln Home After 321 Days: Combat Records, Suicide Attempts, and Hard Questions

CORONADO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln Nimitz-class aircraft carrier wave to friends and family members as the ship docks at its homeport at Naval Air Station North Island on return from a historic 10-month deployment on October 8, 2026 in Coronado, California. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) set a U.S. Navy record spending over 260 days consecutively at sea without a port call while playing a key role in Operation Epic Fury and regional maritime security operations in the Middle East. (Credit: Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The USS Abraham Lincoln docked at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday morning, ending a 321-day deployment that ranks among the most demanding carrier missions in the modern American Navy. The Nimitz-class vessel departed San Diego on November 21, 2025, initially headed for Pacific operations before the Trump administration redirected it to the Persian Gulf as the United States launched its military campaign against Iran. For the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines assigned to the carrier, Thursday's return ended the longest stretch most of them had ever spent away from home — and, for some, a tour of duty defined by genuine crisis.

A Mission Measured in Missiles and Miles