The USS Abraham Lincoln has arrived on U.S. soil for the first time since its departure from San Diego over nine months ago, according to the U.S. 7th Fleet. The aircraft carrier, the embarked Carrier Air Wing 9 and the guided-missile destroyer USS Frank Petersen arrived on Saturday at Naval Base Guam, in the unincorporated territory of the United States. The Lincoln had been expected to reach California by the middle of September, according to reports, although the U.S.
Navy statement did not say how long the ships would stay in Guam, and added there would be no media availability during the visit. The stop marks Carrier Strike Group-3 personnel’s first return to American soil in 303 days, during which they “will be afforded on-base liberty,” the statement added. Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
The vessel left its home port of San Diego on November 21, 2025, for a deployment initially focused on the Indo-Pacific. By early January, the Navy had released imagery showing the ship conducting live-fire exercises in the South China Sea. Its trajectory changed, with open-source technology tracking the Lincoln moving west through the Strait of Malacca, between the Pacific and Indian Oceans amid a U.S military buildup in the Middle East.
As the conflict with Iran intensified, U.S. military statements placed the Lincoln within the U.S. Fifth Fleet's area of operations and it became a key feature of U.S. military posture during the war which started on February 28. However, the extended mission had raised concerns over the mental state of some of the crew members on board.
There were reports of maintenance failures, low morale and internet outages. The wife of a high-ranking officer told Newsweek in August how spouses had been trying to send care packages to the crew after reports of supplies running low. The deployment lasted about 286 days at sea, according to the U.S.
Navy and the carrier was relieved in the Middle East by the USS George Washington. A high-profile port stop in Thailand saw thousands of personnel on shore leave in Pattaya with images widely shared of crew at nightclubs and restaurants throughout the city. The USS Abraham Lincoln left Thailand’s Laem Chabang port on September 6 after a five-day stop and headed back to the U.S.
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