After a lengthy 321-day overseas deployment, the USS Abraham Lincoln, a United States Navy aircraft carrier, finally returned to its homeport in San Diego, California on Thursday, October 8th. Thousands of sailors and their families embraced each other with excitement at the pier, with dozens of new fathers meeting their babies for the first time, creating a touching scene.
According to various media reports, as the Lincoln slowly sailed into San Diego Bay, hundreds of family members and close friends who had been waiting for a long time had gathered at the pier. When the aircraft carrier docked, the atmosphere erupted with enthusiastic cheers as over 5,000 sailors and naval marines descended the gangway, eagerly embracing their loved ones whom they hadn’t seen for a long time. Some service members even met their newborn babies for the first time, creating a joyous and tearful reunion.
The Lincoln set sail from California on November 21st last year for the South China Sea mission before heading to the Middle East in January 2026, participating in the U.S. military actions against Iran and subsequent naval blockades. After more than 10 months at sea, the ship returned from the Middle East in early September, making a stop in Thailand along the way, accumulating a total deployment of 321 days, marking it as the second-longest continuous cruise in modern U.S. Navy history. The deployment also set a record of 265 consecutive days without port calls.
It was reported that the battle group carried out nearly 4000 combat flight missions during the entire deployment, covering a distance of over 90,000 miles (approximately 145,000 kilometers).
On the day before the Lincoln’s arrival in port, the U.S. Secretary of Defense personally visited the ship to console the troops and read out the Presidential commendation order, recognizing the brave performance of all the service members during their military missions.