USS Lincoln docks in San Diego, returning home for first time in 321 days

The USS Abraham Lincoln and its more than 4,500 sailors and Marines returned home to San Diego on Thursday for the first time in 321 days, a jubilant homecoming after a long deployment that included months in the Middle East.Hundreds of family members and friends waited for hours in the sun to greet their loved ones. As the ship pulled into the harbor, a roar of cheers erupted from a pier. Sailors stood at attention on the deck for the aircraft carrier's long approach, and after they were released, smiles and waves broke out as sailors took out their phones to call people on the pier.In one such reunion, McKenzie Adkins held her 10-week-old son Declan as she waved to her husband, Alexander, on the ship's deck, before the new father met his son for the first time. Sailors wave aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier as it returns to Naval Air Station North Island after deployment on Oct. 8, 2026, in Coronado, California. Gregory Bull/AP Photo The Lincoln carrier strike group had been deployed for more than 10 months, including more than 250 uninterrupted days at sea this year. Much of that time was spent in the Middle East, where the aircraft carrier and its escort ships sup...