USS Lincoln returns to US after long deployment supporting war on Iran

Crew members express relief upon return from record-breaking deployment of 265 days that strained conditions on board. Save Share The United States aircraft carrierUSS Abraham Lincolnhas returned to its home port after a 322-day deployment, including a record 265 consecutive days at sea, during which it helped wage the US-Israel war on Iran. The vesselreturned to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, on Thursday, where members of its crew were greeted by family and friends. “It feels amazing,” 20-year-old Abel Ramirez told The Associated Press news agency, adding that his parents had driven from Texas to meet him. “There was a certain point when I never thought I would come off.” Therecord-setting deploymentof the USS Lincoln became a symbol for larger criticisms of the US war effort, which has dragged on since February with no clear end in sight and has strained US military stockpiles. The prolonged deployment prompted a series of news reports calling attention to deteriorating conditions, food shortages and a series of reportedsuicide attemptsby crew members. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth praised the sailors on Wednesday in remarks that accused the media of trying to turn the ship into “a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission”. President Donald Trump and members of his administration have frequentlylashed outat the news media for critical reporting on the war on Iran. Trump himself has called the reporting about the USS Lincoln “fake news”. “The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, a good period of time,” he said at an Oval Office meeting on August 17. “I know people on the Lincoln, and they say it’s beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.” Earlier that month, when confronted with the amount of time the USS Lincoln had spent at sea without a port stop, Trump quipped that its deployment was “not nearly long enough“. The reports of mental health strain on the USS Lincoln come as public opinion polls show low approval ratings among US voters for the war against Iran. On Thursday, the Pew Research Center released a poll that found 65 percent of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war, compared with 33 percent who approved. The war has also fuelled concerns about the cost of living ahead of the upcoming midterm elections....