USS Abraham Lincoln makes its long-awaited return home
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Reported by MS NOW. The paragraphs below are the opening of that article, reproduced word for word — not a summary, and not the whole piece.
Sailors and Marines reunited with their families in San Diego on Thursday as the aircraft carrier returned home from a record-setting combat tour in the Iran war that was marred by food shortages and poor conditions.
When the USS Abraham Lincoln pulled into port in San Diego on Thursday, dozens of sailors and Marines whose babies were born during the carrier’s grueling 322 days away from home sprinted to meet the children they had never held.
They had shoved off from this same dock in November, thinking they would be home by May, then June, then the end of the year — as President Donald Trump repeatedly extended their deployment and ordered the aircraft carrier to strike Iran and enforce a naval blockade.
After military families told MS NOW about the poor conditions and mental health struggles service members were experiencing during the long deployment, they confronted Navy leaders in a fiery town hall in August. Navy leaders then changed plans and turned the Lincoln home months earlier.
Iran’s bombing in March of a key U.S. base in Bahrain disrupted the Navy’s ability to resupply the Lincoln, leading to demoralizing shortages of food and limits on basic supplies like soap and toothpaste. The Navy has acknowledged there were eight suicide attempts in the carrier group during their deployment.
Those hardships made Thursday’s celebrations at Naval Air Station North Island all the more heartfelt. Children who had waited with their families since before sunrise held homemade signs, waved American flags, rang bells and cheered as their mothers and fathers finally came home.
Continue reading at MS NOW →Quoted in This Article
“was difficult — like the shortages, the food shortage and all that.”
How Other Outlets Covered It
U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Returns Home After Long and Grueling Deployment
The aircraft carrier, whose crew endured food shortages, spent much of its nearly 11-month deployment in combat without a day off.
USS Lincoln docks in San Diego, returning home for first time in 321 days
The USS Abraham Lincoln and its more than 4,500 sailors returned home to San Diego on Thursday for the first time in 321 days.
USS Lincoln docks in San Diego Bay following scrutinized 322-day deployment
Families of crewmembers arrived hours ahead of the carrier’s return after reported suicide attempts, dwindling supplies and harsh conditions became synonymous with its deployment.
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