By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-02 17:01:43 | Updated at 2026-09-02 18:06:39
1 hour ago
The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Thailand on Sept. 2 after 286 days at sea.
The American aircraft carrier pulled into Laem Chabang, about 15 miles north of the tourist hotspot of Pattaya, giving the crew their first chance to stand on dry land since November.
Roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines are aboard the vast vessel, which has been involved in the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and combat operations during the war with Iran.
The San Diego-based Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in January.
According to CENTCOM, she and its wider carrier strike group conducted thousands of combat flights in support of Operation Epic Fury, regional security missions, and the U.S. naval blockade against Iran.
“Our arrival in Laem Chabang provides a well-deserved opportunity for our sailors and Marines to rest and recharge. It also underscores the strong and enduring partnership and alliance between the United States and Thailand,” U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Robert E. Loughran said in a statement dated Sept. 1.
“What this strike group has accomplished is truly historic. I could not be prouder of the exceptional professionalism and expertise demonstrated by every member of this team during our operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,” the commander of Carrier Strike Group 3 added.
The nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was accompanied by several other U.S. naval vessels to Thailand, which is Washington’s only treaty partner in mainland Southeast Asia.
She is due to remain in port until Sept. 6, Thai Royal Navy Rear Adm. Surasan Kongsiri said, according to Thai Post.
During the ship’s lengthy deployment, some media outlets reported that conditions aboard the vessel had deteriorated, including claims that sailors have died in a brawl or that a spike in suicidal thoughts among the crew has occurred.
These allegations, however, were denied by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which said that multiple media outlets had published false reports about the Lincoln, including one alleging that seven sailors died in a fight aboard the carrier.
“No service members aboard the aircraft carrier have died,” CENTCOM said.
CENTCOM pointed to the Lincoln’s 84.4 percent crew reenlistment rate, which it said is among the highest for U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.
It also addressed an Aug. 3 incident in which a sailor fell overboard, saying the crew member was quickly and safely recovered.
The command called the reports about the Lincoln’s deployment “rampant misreporting” and said they were a disservice to service members and their families.
An Aug. 12 letter to U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), expressing concerns about the conditions aboard the Lincoln, said that the vessel not making a port call in over 200 days had “set a record for consecutive days at sea.”
A later letter from 15 Democratic senators, including Blumenthal, clarified the language to say that the record broken was specifically “a modern-day record for continuous time at sea for a U.S. aircraft carrier.”
Responding to media reports regarding the conditions aboard the Lincoln on Aug. 13, Hegseth said the issue has been “completely misrepresented.”
“Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” he said.
“Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.”
He said that he wanted to rotate fresh forces into the region and bring the Lincoln back soon.
No set date for the aircraft carrier’s return to American shores has yet been announced, but it has been relieved of its duties in the Middle East by the USS George Washington, which arrived in the region on Aug. 19.
