The USS Abraham Lincoln, a US Navy aircraft carrier that has been at sea for more than 250 days, is due to make a port call in Thailand in early September, according to crew members’ text messages shared with USA Today. The exact date and port have not been confirmed.
The Lincoln left San Diego on November 21 last year and has gone more than 200 consecutive days without docking anywhere, a modern-era record for a US aircraft carrier. USS Abraham Lincoln was originally due home in May but was redirected to the Middle East in January ahead of the Iran war, which began on February 28, extending its deployment beyond 260 days.
The Associated Press reported that the USS George Washington, sent from the Asia-Pacific, is now operating in the Middle East after arriving in the region on Wednesday, relieving the Lincoln.
US Central Command said it was not yet clear when the Lincoln would arrive back in the US or whether it would stop at a port along the way, though the AP reported the journey home typically takes just over a month.
Pulling the George Washington out of the Pacific leaves the US without a carrier in that region for the first time in years, the AP reported, even as China has shown signs of aggression toward the Philippines and Japan and carried out drills near the Scarborough Shoal.
Analysts told the AP the open-ended Iran operations are straining US carriers and crews, following a separate 11-month deployment by the USS Gerald R. Ford, the longest since the Vietnam War, which also supported operations against Iran and the capture of Venezuela’s then-leader Nicolás Maduro.
Family members and military-focused outlets have reported deteriorating conditions on the Lincoln, including food and supply shortages, plumbing problems and worsening mental health among the roughly 5,000 sailors and marines aboard.
A US official confirmed one sailor assigned to the Lincoln’s air wing went overboard in early August, was rescued and later transferred off the ship for medical care; separate reports of other incidents have not been officially confirmed.
The reports prompted Senate Democrats, including Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, to write to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Navy demanding answers on supply shortages, water contamination and mental health support aboard the ship.
Most Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee have called for a hearing with Pentagon leadership on the impact of extended deployments during the Iran war.
Hegseth told reporters the accounts had been “completely misrepresented,” saying the Navy ensures every ship and crew has what it needs.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said a small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life, and that meal plans were adjusted without any meal being missed.
President Donald Trump, asked whether families were concerned about conditions on the ship, said they were not, and said the deployment had not gone on “nearly long enough.”
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