The USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to San Diego on Thursday after a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea during the Iran war, a deployment that drew attention over reports of worsening conditions for its crew. Before its return, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to the carrier on Wednesday to present the crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honour awarded to a military unit and one typically reserved for significant achievement in combat.

During the visit, Hegseth rejected criticism around the deployment and praised the crew’s conduct. He said there had been 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 added that "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 also told the crew that President Donald Trump "tracked your activities from day one and couldn't be more proud of what you executed."

The carrier came under national scrutiny after reports of stress among crew members, poor mental health and shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products, during its mission linked to the Iran war. The Navy initially played down the problems, and Trump said in August that the Lincoln’s lengthy deployment was "not nearly long enough". The carrier had left San Diego in November and reached the Middle East in January. US and Israeli forces launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28.

Navy leaders later acknowledged there had been some issues on board. In August, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the Lincoln had adequate food supplies, but resupply chances were limited during combat operations and meal options were cut from two to one for a short period. In a letter to a Democratic lawmaker seeking details, he said four nutritionally balanced meals were served every day.

After more than 10 months at sea, the crew got a stop in Thailand early last month while returning from the Middle East. Long deployments can put pressure on service personnel who are away from home for extended periods, and can also increase strain on the ship and its equipment. The Navy told lawmakers that eight sailors attempted suicide during the record deployment, though experts said that figure was low for a strike group of 6,000 sailors over 10 months. According to the citation read out by Hegseth, the Lincoln and its strike group carried out 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, which set a record for the number of days between port calls, is the second carrier to undergo an unusually long deployment in support of the war against Iran and then receive the Presidential Unit Citation. Hegseth had met the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford in May after 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. Another carrier, the usually Asia-based USS George Washington, replaced the Lincoln in the Middle East in August, capping a deployment that combined heavy combat operations with concerns over crew welfare.