USS Abraham Lincoln Sails Past Singapore After 9-Month Deployment and Record Time at Sea

The USS Abraham Lincoln sailed past Singapore early Sunday, finally heading home after a nine-month Middle East deployment that pushed the ship and its crew to their limits. Journalists with The Associated Press on the Indonesian island of Batam, across the Singapore Strait, spotted the carrier transiting the waterway just after 1 a.m. local time.

The Lincoln, one of the U.S. Navy’s largest warships, is expected to make a port visit to Thailand before returning to its home base, according to Thai officials. The stop is meant to give the carrier’s roughly 5,000 sailors time to rest and recover after a deployment that included more than 250 uninterrupted days at sea — a record for a U.S. carrier — and months of supporting strikes against Iran.

What began as a routine departure from San Diego on Nov. 21 became one of the most closely watched carrier tours in recent memory after the U.S. went to war with Iran in February. The Lincoln’s mission was extended as it remained on station in the Middle East, and its prolonged combat operations raised questions about crew endurance and how long a carrier can stay at sea before maintenance and morale begin to suffer.

Over the past several months, family members have voiced concerns about deteriorating mental health among the crew and shortages of food and hygiene products. U.S. Central Command called reports of increased suicidal ideation false and said no deaths have occurred aboard the ship. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the time that reports of problems on the carrier had been “misrepresented.” The Navy also said the circumstances of an incident on Aug. 3 in which a sailor fell overboard and was recovered remain under investigation.

The Lincoln’s long-awaited departure from the Middle East was made possible by the arrival of the Japan-based USS George Washington, which moved into the region earlier this month to take over the carrier’s duties. The handover marked the end of a deployment that has renewed debate inside and outside the Navy about the sustainability of the current carrier operating tempo, especially as the service continues to manage simultaneous commitments in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East.

For families waiting at home, the long journey has been agonizing. Jefferson Kelley, whose son Jackson is aboard the Lincoln on his first deployment, told CBS Mornings earlier this month that he would “get on a plane or helicopter tonight to get shipped out to the Lincoln if it meant bringing him home to his mom and his siblings and his family.”

“They should not be deployed this long,” Kelley said. “These are old ships. It’s not like they’re even state-of-the-art. And they take a lot of maintenance, a lot of work. It’s around the clock.”