{"id":451231,"date":"2026-09-02T16:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T16:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/451231\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T16:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T16:48:10","slug":"uss-abraham-lincoln-makes-rest-stop-in-thailand-before-return-to-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/451231\/","title":{"rendered":"USS Abraham Lincoln makes rest stop in Thailand before return to San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"USS<\/a>The USS Abraham Lincoln arrives at the port in Laem Chabang, Chonburi, Thailand on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit\/Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln<\/a> docked at a port in eastern Thailand on Wednesday after its grueling deployment in the Middle East that kept the ship at sea for more than 250 days.<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists watched the nuclear-powered supercarrier, which is carrying about 5,000 service members, as it made its way into the Laem Chabang port in Chonburi province shortly after the Pear Harbor-based destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. sailed past the area.<\/p>\n

The Lincoln has been supporting the\u00a0U.S. war against Iran<\/a>. Its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea. Concerns have grown about\u00a0the Lincoln\u2019s lengthy deployment<\/a>\u00a0following reports of deteriorating mental health among the crew and shortages of supplies including food and hygiene products.<\/p>\n

Crew members were not immediately accessible to media, but the ship itself looked due for at least a new paint job, with large blotches of what appeared to be rust on the hull, especially just above the waterline and at the edge of the flight desk, where fighter aircraft and helicopters were parked.<\/p>\n

When asked about the aircraft carrier\u2019s appearance, Capt. Dan Keeler, the Lincoln\u2019s commanding officer, replied that \u201cit is normal for a long deployment and we\u2019re not going to make further comments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked for his thoughts about U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s comment that the Lincoln\u2019s record-setting deployment was \u201cnot nearly long enough,\u201d he was similarly terse.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the president speaks for himself,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is what I think about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A U.S. Embassy statement said the Lincoln\u2019s strike group arrived in Laem Chabang, while the Petersen Jr. docked at the nearby port of Sriracha, and the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls is in Map Ta Phut in neighboring Rayong province.<\/p>\n

The visit marked the Lincoln\u2019s first full port stop after 286 days, or more than nine months, at sea from the start of the deployment in 2025, the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbraham Lincoln\u2019s visit to Laem Chabang is a clear demonstration of our enduring commitment to our allies and partners in Thailand, and we are all very excited to make Thailand the first port visit on our historic deployment,\u201d Keeler said earlier in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n

The usually Asia-based\u00a0USS George Washington<\/a>\u00a0relieved the long-deployed Lincoln in the Middle East in August.<\/p>\n

Many of the service members are\u00a0expected to make a visit to Pattaya<\/a>, a popular beach town nearby. Thai officials have said the Lincoln\u2019s stop would be for rest and recovery before returning to its U.S. base.<\/p>\n

Pattaya officials said they welcomed the visit and the potential boost to the local economy. Authorities said they are stepping up security to ensure a smooth visit.<\/p>\n

Shakeira Fairfax traveled to Thailand to meet her daughter Jada, a crew member on the Lincoln.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited. I\u2019m so full of emotion. I can\u2019t wait to hold her. I can\u2019t wait to snuggle up next to her,\u201d said the mom, who hails from Paterson, New Jersey. She spoke to The Associated Press outside a hotel in Pattaya where crew members are set to spend their leaves.<\/p>\n

Shakeira said her daughter, an entry-level seaman, finished basic training in October and shipped out for the Lincoln\u2019s deployment in mid-November, later celebrating her 25th birthday on board.<\/p>\n

Shakeira said she worried most just after the U.S. launched its initial attack on Iran at the end of February and she was unable to connect with Jada for awhile.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an uncertain time. It was a scary time. It was difficult \u2014 definitely difficult. But she has a support system. Her friends reached out to me. In fact, one of her good childhood friends is here as well. It was a time for us to stick together and trust and believe that she would be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also recalled how her daughter sought her support when morale aboard the ship was reportedly low.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked, \u201cWhat can I do? What can I do?\u201d She said, \u201cJust tell me old stories.\u201d Being able to share stories, laugh and look at photographs \u2014 to take that walk down memory lane \u2014 was really nice. It was really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The USS Abraham Lincoln arrives at the port in Laem Chabang, Chonburi, Thailand on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[19560,19378,74,76,75,42452],"class_list":["post-451231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-aircraft-carriers","tag-iran","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-uss-abraham-lincoln"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}