USS Abraham Lincoln returns after troubled Gulf deployment

The USS Abraham Lincoln has returned to San Diego after a long Gulf deployment that US officials said included eight suicide attempts by service members in its carrier strike group.

Families waited at the California port on Thursday to welcome sailors they had not seen for almost a year. AFP reported that more than 100 new fathers met their babies for the first time.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier left California in November 2025 for duty in the South China Sea and was later rerouted to the Middle East before US-Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February. It remained at sea until a port call in Thailand in early September.

The deployment had drawn concern from military families and lawmakers over reported suicide attempts and food shortages. Last month, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a lawmaker that eight service members who were part of the Lincoln carrier strike group had attempted suicide and that none died.

Cao said one sailor assigned to an air wing went overboard in early August and was quickly recovered. He said another sailor attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by shipmates.

Cao also said food supplies on the carrier were adequate, but that limited resupply options during combat reduced the number of main entree options from two to one for a short time.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the Lincoln on Wednesday and praised the crew. He said the strike group had flown 10,000 sorties, including almost 4,000 combat sorties, and logged 23,000 combat flight hours.

Hegseth also announced a presidential unit citation for what he called the strike group's “extraordinary heroism against enemy forces”.