After nearly 11 months at sea supporting President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran, the aircraft carrier returned to its homeport in San Diego on Thursday, concluding one of the longest Navy deployments in modern history.
The homecoming followed reports highlighting supply shortages, mental health concerns and deteriorating morale aboard the warship. But Hegseth pushed back against attempts to portray the Lincoln’s grueling deployment as a military failure.
“There were a few folks in the media who tried to turn the USS Abraham Lincoln into some sort of a symbol,” Hegesth said. “A symbol of dysfunction, or a symbol of low morale, or a symbol of a failed mission. And what I look out right here or when I talk to your leadership, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to a number of you, I know it’s the exact opposite.”
The sailors responded enthusiastically as Hegseth praised their accomplishments and defended the mission that kept them away from their families for 321 days.
The Lincoln spent a staggering 265 days between port visits, setting a new record. Its deployment was the second-longest since the Cold War, falling just five days short of the USS Gerald R. Ford’s 326-day deployment earlier this year.
JUST IN: SecWar Pete Hegseth just WALKED OUT to welcome home the USS Abraham Lincoln from an EXTENDED and historic 321-day deployment
Hegseth misspoke one time and ordered himself to do PUSHUPS in front of the sailors
WE LOVE THESE PATRIOTS!
“What the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group did, no other Carrier Strike Group has ever done. 10,000 sorties, 23,000 combat flight hours, almost 4,000 combat sorties, 1.5 million pounds of ordinance dropped on the enemy!”
“And let me tell you, and you did it without an aircraft mishap? I honestly have no idea how that’s possible!”
The fake news wants to DEFAME and UNDERMINE their mission.
They succeeded anyway, and now they are home
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 7, 2026
Hegseth acknowledged that he personally extended the Lincoln’s deployment twice, arguing that the crew’s battlefield performance made its continued presence essential.
“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 Donald Trump had full faith that you would deliver on behalf of the American people, and you did” he, added.
SecWar Pete Hegseth just dropped the line of the century:
“We decided to share the ocean with the Iranian Navy. They got the bottom half.”
Welcome home, USS Lincoln sailors! https://t.co/sRZDbLZx6r
— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) October 7, 2026
The numbers behind that confidence were staggering.
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According to figures released during the visit, the Lincoln’s strike group completed 3,693 combat sorties and dropped approximately 1.37 million pounds of ordnance on Iranian targets.
Supporting warships launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, destroyed 77 Iranian attack drones and intercepted 21 anti-ship cruise missiles. The strike group also helped sink 64 Iranian warships.
The crew’s performance earned the prestigious Presidential Unit Citation, one of the military’s highest honors for extraordinary heroism in combat.
Still, the deployment wasn’t without serious hardships. Supply disruptions affected food availability, while Navy officials confirmed eight suicide attempts involving sailors assigned to the strike group, including one sailor who survived jumping overboard.
Those incidents raised concerns about the demands placed on service members during extended deployments, even as the crew continued carrying out its combat mission.
The Navy is already applying lessons learned aboard the Lincoln to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, including expanded food storage, improved hygiene supplies, upgraded fitness equipment and better communication with military families.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
