The long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln returns home to San Diego from Middle East

The USS Abraham Lincoln is returning home to San Diego Bay Thursday after supporting the Iran war during a record-long deployment of 265 uninterrupted days at sea that included reports of deteriorating conditions among its crew.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth flew out to the carrier on Wednesday to give the crew the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honour a unit can receive that is typically reserved for significant achievement in combat.

Hegseth pushed back against what he said were efforts to turn the “Lincoln into some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission”.

He said “what makes the US military and the US Navy and all these sailors different is that you adapt and that you’re resilient and you overcome – you finish the mission nonetheless.”

Hegseth told the crew that US President Donald Trump “tracked your activities from day one and couldn’t be more proud of what you executed”.

Families and loved ones of the crew arrived hours ahead of the carrier’s arrival on Thursday, queuing to get on the naval base in Coronado near San Diego.

Among the first to depart once the ship docks will be 64 fathers meeting theirs babies for the first time, the Navy said.

“It’s almost been a year,” said Fernando Cota, who was looking forward to hearing the voice of his 20-year-old daughter, Aixa. “I’m happy to see her after so long.”

Iveth Foullet drove with her family from Arizona to greet her 20-year-old son, Jan, with plans to take him out for dinner and then celebrate his birthday on Friday.

The carrier drew national attention following reports of stress among the crew and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products, during its Iran war mission.

The Navy initially downplayed any problems and Trump commented in August that the Lincoln’s lengthy deployment was “not nearly long enough”.

The carrier left San Diego in November and arrived in the Middle East in January. US and Israeli forces launched air strikes against Iran on February 28.

Navy leaders, however, eventually acknowledged there were some issues aboard.

In August, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the Lincoln maintained adequate food supplies but because combat operations limited resupply opportunities, meal options were reduced from two to one for a short time. He said in a letter to a Democratic lawmaker seeking information that four nutritionally balanced meals were served daily.

After more than 10 months at sea, the Lincoln’s crew got a stop in Thailand early last month on the way back from the Middle East.

Extended naval deployments can wear on service members who are away from home for long periods and increase strain on the ship and its equipment.

The Navy told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide during the record-setting deployment, though experts say that number is low in a strike group of 6,000 sailors over 10 months.

According to the citation that Hegseth read to the crew, the Lincoln and its strike group executed 3,693 combat missions, delivered 1.37 million pounds of ordnance, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shot down 77 one-way attack drones, sank 64 Iranian warships, destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles and defended against four fast-attack craft and explosive-carrying ships.

The Lincoln played a vital role providing security for maritime operations in the Middle East, the Navy said.

The Lincoln, which set a record for days in between ports of call, is the second carrier to endure an unusually long deployment to support the war against Iran and to receive the Presidential Unit Citation afterwards.

Hegseth in May met the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford during its return from a 326-day deployment – the longest for an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years and a record in the post-Vietnam war era. The deployment did not include as many uninterrupted days at sea as the Lincoln’s 265-day stretch.

Another carrier, the usually Asia-based USS George Washington, relieved the Lincoln in the Middle East in August.