This summer, news reports revealed that multiple sailors had attempted to jump overboard<\/a> amid shortages of fresh food<\/a>, disruptions to hot water and laundry services and exhaustion. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao then told Congress that at least eight strike team members had attempted suicide<\/a> during the deployment.<\/p>\n Sailors wave to their loved ones aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived at North Island Naval Air Station.<\/p>\n (Sandy Huffaker\/For The Times)<\/p>\n When asked Thursday about the toll on sailors, Commanding Officer Daniel J. Keeler said that everything crew members went through was \u201cin the normal spectrum of what you might expect you see on an aircraft carrier.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI had all the supplies I needed to conduct combat,\u201d he said. \u201cWe never missed a mission. I also never missed a meal.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the ship deployed with five chaplains and a well-staffed mental health team. \u201cWe got our sailors any care they needed and got them back in the fight when it was appropriate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented the crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest unit-level military decoration awarded by the United States. <\/p>\n The aircraft carrier traveled more than 85,000 nautical miles carrying around 5,000 sailors during its 10-month deployment, described as<\/a> \u201cone of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era\u201d by U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper.<\/p>\n \u201cOur epic deployment ends today and what this team achieved is amazing,\u201d Keeler said Thursday. \u201cLincoln Nation conducted major combat operations, enforced naval blockade and demonstrated the presence and power of the carrier strike group and multiple numbered fleets, all while keeping up unprecedented operational tempo.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooper visited the ship in August<\/a> and noted it had among the lowest numbers of mental-health-related cases out of the Navy\u2019s 11 active carriers, but \u201cthis doesn\u2019t mean that all is perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a statement Thursday that while he celebrated the ship\u2019s return, he was acutely aware of the burden such a long deployment put upon crew members and their families.<\/p>\n The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived at North Island Naval Air Station.<\/p>\n (Sandy Huffaker\/For The Times)<\/p>\n Schiff said one of his constituents, identified only as Doug, wrote him a letter expressing concern about conditions aboard the ship after his son was medically evacuated due to a collapsed lung.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter time in the ICU [abroad], he returned home to us as a shell of the son who had left,\u201d Doug wrote. \u201cHe is 6\u20195\u2033 and left weighing 210 pounds; and he returned closer to 180 pounds. He resembled a starved prisoner of war. What he told me as a father and veteran turns my stomach and must be brought to light.\u201d <\/p>\n San Diego resident Annabelle Loma told the Military Times<\/a> in August that her husband was among the sailors who attempted to jump overboard.<\/p>\n \u201cHe thinks he\u2019ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year-old career is ruined, just like that,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s not fair, that\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n Schiff said he hopes these tales of hardship resonate with the Trump administration, arguing that \u201cwith no clear objective and no measurable progress,\u201d the war on Iran must end, not only because of high costs imposed on the American people but also because of the high price paid by service members. <\/p>\n More than 860 troops have been wounded and 19 have been killed<\/a> since the start of the conflict, according to data published by the Defense Department.<\/p>\n No casualties were reported aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n Mitchell Brown hugs loved ones after the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived at North Island Naval Air Station.<\/p>\n (Sandy Huffaker\/For The Times)<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important statistic, the one that I am most proud of, is zero,\u201d Keeler said. \u201cZero lost aircraft, zero combat damage, zero lives lost. Every single sailor and Marine that left on this deployment is going home.\u201d<\/p>\n The ship\u2019s return to San Diego comes just days after the president\u2019s controversial remarks<\/a> suggesting that if Iran were to \u201ctake out\u201d San Diego or Los Angeles it would be a \u201cvery small price to pay\u201d to keep the world and country safe. White House communications director Steven Cheung criticized the \u201cmedia freakout\u201d over the comments, saying that the president was pointing out how American cities would have been threatened if it were not for U.S. military intervention.<\/p>\n Trump appeared to backpedal his bellicosity<\/a> at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday, saying he was not going to let Iranian missiles strike U.S. cities.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, the damage was done, with California leaders from both sides of the aisle criticizing the implications of the president\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not expendable. And we are never a \u2018small price to pay,\u2019\u201d San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria posted on X<\/a>. \u201cKeep our city out of your reckless war talk.\u201d<\/p>\n Jim Desmond, a Trump-endorsed<\/a> Republican candidate running to represent San Diego in California\u2019s hotly contested 48th Congressional District<\/a>, said he vehemently disagreed with the president\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returns to the San Diego Bay after deployment Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in San Diego.<\/p>\n (Karl Anderson \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n![\"Sailors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791501370_792_.jpeg\")
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