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Pete Hegseth awarded the USS Abraham Lincoln a Presidential Unit Citation before its return to San Diego. The honour capped a record deployment marked by combat, supply strains and intense scrutiny of crew welfare.
Washington,Oct 8, 2026 02:56 IST
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday awarded the USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying ships the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honour given to a military unit, a day before the aircraft carrier was due to return to San Diego after a record-long deployment linked to the Iran war. Hegseth said the award was for "40 days of combat operations and an ironclad maritime blockade against Iran in support of Operation Epic Fury", the Trump administration's code name for the war.
The USS Abraham Lincoln spent a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea. Its long deployment drew national attention after reports of crew stress, poor mental health and shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products. After more than 10 months on deployment, the crew stopped in Thailand early last month while returning from the Middle East.
Hegseth flew to the ship before its arrival in San Diego and told the crew, "I'm the only thing standing between you and home", adding that his intention was that "once they pull up to the dock, we're getting out of the way". Long deployments can put pressure on service members who are away from their families for long periods while facing threats, and can also add wear to aircraft carriers used in President Donald Trump's military operations in the Middle East and South America.
The Lincoln is the second carrier to complete an unusually long deployment in support of the war against Iran and the second to receive the top unit award afterwards. In May, Hegseth met the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford as it returned from a 326-day deployment, the longest for an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years and a record in the post-Vietnam War era. The Lincoln left San Diego in late November, reached the Middle East in January and is now set to return to its home port. Hegseth said Trump "tracked your activities from day one and couldn't be more proud of what you executed".
The Navy had initially played down early reports of supply problems on the Lincoln, and Trump had said its long deployment was "not nearly long enough". Navy leaders later acknowledged there had been some issues on board. In August, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the Lincoln had adequate food supplies, but combat operations had limited chances for resupply, reducing meal options from two to one for a short period. In a letter to a Democratic lawmaker seeking details, he said four nutritionally balanced meals were served daily. Navy officials also said delays in planned resupply shipments were caused by combat operations, but hygiene products were prioritised and a rotation system was set up to improve distribution across squadrons.
More recently, the service told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide during the long deployment. Experts said that figure was low for a strike group of 6,000 sailors over 10 months. Hegseth rejected what he called efforts to turn the "Lincoln into some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission". He added: "what makes the US military and the US Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt and that you're resilient and you overcome - you finish the mission nonetheless."
According to the citation read out by Hegseth, the Lincoln and its strike group carried out 3,693 combat missions, delivered 1.37 million pounds of ordnance, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones, sank 64 Iranian warships, destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles and defended against four fast attack craft and explosive-carrying ships. There are now two aircraft carriers assigned to the Middle East. The USS George Washington, usually based in Asia, relieved the Lincoln in August. The USS George H W Bush has been deployed for about six months and recently made a port visit to Phuket, Thailand. US officials have also said a third carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, along with thousands of troops on board it and accompanying ships, could join the Washington and the Bush as early as the end of October. The award to the Lincoln came as it returned home after a long deployment marked by combat operations, strain on the crew and continued focus on carrier operations in the region.
With PTI Inputs
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