After taking part in the United States’ military operation against Iran in the Middle East, the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is finally heading home. After roughly eight months at sea in the Middle East, the carrier has already passed through the Singapore Strait.
Associated Press (AP) journalists stationed on Indonesia’s Batam Island spotted the carrier, one of the US Navy’s largest, in waters near Singapore just after 1 a.m. local time Sunday.
During this extended deployment, the Lincoln spent a total of 266 days at sea. Of that, the carrier spent more than 200 days at sea without a single port call, considered a record in the modern era.
Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said earlier this month that the USS Abraham Lincoln was deployed for a total of 266 days, of which 200 were spent in the war zone. During that period, its strike group carried out more than 10,000 sorties and dropped roughly 1.5 million pounds of munitions.
Amid rising Middle East tensions, the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived from the South China Sea in the area near the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean on January 26 this year and began its operational presence.
However, the extended deployment and conditions aboard the ship have raised numerous questions and concerns. Reports recently emerged of declining morale, mental health concerns, and temporary shortages of food and personal hygiene supplies among the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard.
Various military media outlets and other reports have also highlighted problems with the ship’s toilet and water supply systems. Reports have even emerged of a suicide attempt and incidents of sailors falling overboard during the deployment.
However, the US Navy has rejected claims of a widespread mental health crisis aboard the carrier. The Navy says it has found no evidence of an increase in suicidal ideation or suicide attempts on the Lincoln, and that medical, religious and mental health professionals are available for sailors there.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also called reports about conditions aboard the Lincoln a “complete mischaracterization.”
Meanwhile, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao praised the ship’s sailors, saying that even as they reached the limits of their capacity during the long deployment, they met every demand of the mission.
Thai officials said the USS Abraham Lincoln will make a port call in Thailand for rest and recovery before returning to its home base in the United States.