USS Lincoln nearly home after more than 300 days at sea

ABOARD THE USS LINCOLN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN — After spending more than 300 days at sea, service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln will finally return home this week. The beleaguered aircraft carrier with about 7,500 personnel is scheduled to dock Thursday in San Diego, amid sharp criticism over its prolonged deployment in the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged to crewmembers on Wednesday that he was the “only thing standing between you and home” and that he had been the one “who signed that orders book twice” to extend the ship’s deployment. On Wednesday, the evening before they were set to dock, the mood seemed far more jovial aboard the ship; sailors were chatting and laughing, some were running a 5K around a deck now free of aircraft. A band played in the setting sun.