Hegseth Greets USS Abraham Lincoln Crew in San Diego After 300‑Day Deployment Marked by Strain and Suicide Attempts

Pete Hegseth traveled to San Diego this week to personally welcome home the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln, which returned to Naval Air Station North Island after more than 300 consecutive days at sea — one of the longest modern U.S. carrier deployments and one marked by severe strain on sailors.

Hegseth departed Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, arriving at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar that night before flying out to the carrier the next morning as it approached its homeport in Coronado, California. The Nimitz‑class aircraft carrier, carrying roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines, had spent the year operating in the Pacific and South China Sea before shifting to Middle East missions during an extended deployment.

During Wednesday’s visit, Hegseth:

• Spoke with the crew aboard the ship

• Participated in physical training (PT)

• Ate lunch with service members

His arrival was intended to boost morale as the ship completed a grueling mission that had drawn national attention for deteriorating conditions onboard. The deployment was extended to support U.S. operations in the Middle East, but sailors reported food and supply shortages, poor morale, and multiple suicide attempts during the final months at sea.

Hegseth initially dismissed early reports of worsening conditions as exaggerated. However, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao later confirmed that the situation was serious, acknowledging that eight sailors attempted suicide during the deployment — a revelation that intensified scrutiny of the Navy’s mental‑health support systems and the strain of extended carrier operations.

The ship’s return marks the end of a mission that tested the limits of endurance for its crew. For many sailors, stepping onto American soil for the first time in nearly a year was both a relief and a moment of reckoning for the Navy’s leadership.