The USS Abraham Lincoln has left Thailand and is now heading back to its home port of San Diego after completing a 286-day deployment in the Middle East.
The carrier spent five days in Thailand before departing Sunday, marking its first port stop after 264 consecutive days at sea.
U.S. Navy Capt. Dan Keeler, the Lincoln’s commanding officer, issued a statement thanking “the people of Thailand for their incredible hospitality” and for giving the ship’s 5,000 sailors and Marines a “recharge.”
“We are grateful to our Thai allies for hosting us, and we look forward to continuing our mission here in 7th Fleet, alongside Thailand and our other regional allies and partners,” Keeler said in his statement, released by the U.S. Embassy in Thailand.
Keeler also noted that the Navy’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation program “worked with local Thai businesses to organize tours and events throughout the local area, allowing personnel to make the most of their port visit.”
The Lincoln originally departed San Diego in November, in the months leading up to the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran, where tensions between Washington and Tehran had been escalating sharply.
The carrier’s extended deployment in the Middle East placed enormous demands on its crew, with the ship spending the better part of a year operating far from home.
The Lincoln was ultimately relieved by the USS George Washington, which arrived in the Middle East late last month following a series of troubling reports about conditions aboard the Lincoln.
Those reports included accounts of food shortages, contamination, low morale among sailors, and alleged suicide attempts, painting a stark picture of life on the vessel during its lengthy deployment.
President Trump dismissed the reports as “fake,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the reporting “completely misrepresented” the situation aboard the ship.
The Lincoln’s return to San Diego will mark the end of one of the more demanding deployments for a carrier strike group in recent memory, with crew members having spent the vast majority of the past year at sea.
The port visit to Thailand offered a brief but meaningful respite before the final leg of the journey home for the roughly 5,000 personnel aboard.
