Secretary of War Pete Hegseth presented the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group with the U.S. military’s highest unit-level distinction, the Presidential Unit Citation, during a visit aboard the carrier ahead of its homecoming in San Diego.
“I thank almighty God for such Americans, for such men and for such women, who put their life on the line,” Hegseth said from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier on Oct. 7 as he spoke to gathered sailors and Marines.
The Lincoln is set to return to its homeport on Oct. 8, concluding a deployment that began on Nov. 21, 2025, and involved extensive combat operations against Iran.
As he spoke, Hegseth acknowledged he signed orders twice to extend the carrier strike group’s deployment. He said the crew of the Lincoln went 265 consecutive days at sea without stopping in a port.
“We asked you to do more, and you know what you did? You did more,” Hegseth said. “And it wasn’t easy, and there wasn’t easy resupply, and there were contested seas.”
Hegseth credited the aircraft carrier with completing 23,000 combat flight hours during its latest deployment, including 160 continuous hours of flight operations at the start of the U.S. military campaign against Iran, which began on Feb. 28.
As he read from the citation, Hegseth further credited the strike group with expending approximately 1.4 million pounds of weaponry against Iranian targets, including 64 Iranian warships now deemed destroyed, without any reported aircraft mishaps. He also credited the group with fending off attacks from 21 anti-ship cruise missiles, 77 one-way attack drones, and four explosive-laden surface vessels.
Along with carrying out strikes on Iranian targets during the height of the ongoing military campaign, the strike group has joined in enforcing a maritime blockade of Iran’s ports as part of a wider effort to economically constrain Tehran and extract diplomatic concessions from its leaders.
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington and its strike group entered the waters of the Middle East in August, relieving the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. The move followed reports that the Lincoln’s crew had faced strain as a result of its extended time at sea without a port visit to facilitate easier resupply efforts.
In a letter to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) last month, acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said eight service members assigned to the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group had attempted suicide during their latest deployment.
The strike group made a port visit in Thailand on its return voyage.
The Lincoln is now the second carrier to return from deployment after supporting the military campaign against Iran.
In May, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford returned to its homeport in Virginia after a 326-day deployment, the longest U.S. aircraft carrier mission of the post-Vietnam War era. The Ford had supported the U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, before joining early combat operations against Iran.
The Ford Carrier Strike Group also received a Presidential Unit Citation for its latest deployment.
Last week, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group departed San Diego, as did the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group. A U.S. defense official told The Epoch Times these additional warships are headed for the Middle East, and there could be up to three U.S. carrier strike groups and two amphibious ready groups active in the region by November.
Last month, President Donald Trump said the conflict with Iran would likely end shortly after the U.S. midterm elections in November “because [the Iranian regime] can’t hold out any longer.”
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