Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will welcome the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln back to the United States Wednesday, after over 300 days at sea. The aircraft carrier departed its base in San Diego in November 2025, headed for the Indo-Pacific region before it was sent to the Middle East earlier this year, with sailors and their families later raising concerns about conditions on board the vessel. Hegseth is set to meet the crew before they arrive back at their home port Thursday, with the Department of Defense saying he will take part in a personal training session and eat lunch with them.
Jefferson Kelley, who previously told Newsweek that he felt his son, a sailor on board the Lincoln, had been sent into a "forever war" by President Donald Trump, said Wednesday that he was thrilled sailors would be returning home. "This was an unprecedented deployment. I can't imagine what they went through on a daily basis.
We can't forget about the ships and servicemen and women that are still stationed in the Middle East during this conflict," Kelley said in a statement. "It is even more important now that all of us and families of loved ones that are a part of Operation Epstein Fury, continue to keep media pressure on the accountability, or lack thereof, of this administration. Media pressure will be the only way to get answers for what our military is *actually* going through and not the lies we know and are accustomed to with this administration.
My hope for all of us is that after the midterms we can get a Democrat congress that will end this war and put a stop to Trump." Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon for further comment Wednesday morning. The carrier left San Diego November 21, 2025, originally meant for a standard deployment in the Indo-Pacific. In January, the ship was rerouted to the Middle East, where it provided support as the U.S. conflict with Iran got underway.
In August, reports emerged from parents, spouses, and friends of those on board that the crew was facing deteriorating conditions, including moldy showers, poor-quality food, and a lack of basic necessities. Mental health also became a key concern, with reports that some sailors had attempted, and even succeeded, in jumping overboard. Navy pushed back on these claims but did not deny that any incidents had taken place.
"Based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship," a Navy spokesperson said August 12. In late August, the Lincoln began its journey home, first heading to Thailand and then stopping in Guam - the first time the vessel had been on U.S. soil in nine months. Both President Donald Trump and Hegseth have sought to downplay the concerns raised about the Lincoln.
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