USS Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group

Abraham Lincoln is part of Carrier Strike Group Three (CSG-3). Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) is embarked. Abraham Lincoln is the flagship of the strike group, and the home of the commander of Destroyer Squadron 21.

Ships of Destroyer Squadron 21

USS O'Kane (DDG-77) – Arleigh Burke class destroyer

USS Spruance (DDG-111) – Arleigh Burke class destroyer

USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) – Arleigh Burke class destroyer

Ship history

Construction

Abraham Lincoln's contract was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding on 27 December 1982. Her keel was laid 3 November 1984 at Newport News, Virginia. The ship was launched on 13 February 1988 and commissioned on 11 November 1989.

1990 to 1999

In September 1990, Abraham Lincoln was transferred to the Pacific, performing Gringo—Gaucho with the Argentine Naval Aviation during the transit. From 4 October, Abraham Lincoln formed CTG 24.8 in company with USS Doyle; 6 October transit with USS Pawcatuck and Doyle in company. On 5 November 1990, as Abraham Lincoln was anchored in Valparaíso in Chile, Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez guerrillas detonated a bomb inside the restaurant Max und Moritz, in the seaside resort of Viña del Mar, wounding three of her sailors.

On 28 May 1991, Abraham Lincoln's maiden Western Pacific deployment came unexpectedly, in response to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The ship had the staffs of Commander, Carrier Group Three, Rear Admiral Timothy W. Wright, and Destroyer Squadron 9 embarked, as well as Carrier Air Wing Eleven. She was accompanied by a seven-ship battle group.

While heading towards the Indian Ocean, the ship was diverted to support evacuation operations after Mount Pinatubo erupted on Luzon Island in the Philippines. In support of Operation Fiery Vigil, Abraham Lincoln led a 23-ship armada that moved over 45,000 people from the Subic Bay Naval Station to the port of Cebu in the Visayas. It was the largest peacetime evacuation of active military personnel and their families in history.

One baby was born onboard Abraham Lincoln during the evacuation. His mother named him Abraham Lincoln Prestera. After Fiery Vigil, Abraham Lincoln steamed toward the Persian Gulf, to run reconnaissance and combat air patrols in Iraq and Kuwait, assisting allied and US troops involved with Desert Storm. In early 1992, the ship was at Naval Air Station Alameda, on Ship's Restricted Availability for minor maintenance and refitting.

From June 1993, Abraham Lincoln was the flagship of Commander, Carrier Group Three. In October 1993, the carrier was ordered to the coast of Somalia to assist United Nations humanitarian operations. For four weeks, Abraham Lincoln flew air patrols over Mogadishu in support of Operation Restore Hope.

Abraham Lincoln was the first Pacific Fleet carrier to integrate female aviators into the crew after the Combat Exclusion Laws were lifted on 28 April 1993. The ship left San Diego on 24 October 1994, to begin refresher training. The next day, Lieutenant Kara Spears Hultgreen, the first female F-14 Tomcat pilot, died when her plane crashed into the sea. Her F-14 suffered a compressor stall as she made her final approach, losing power to one of the engines. She aborted the landing to the best of her ability in an effort to prevent a collision with the aft end of the ship, and the plane inverted and went into the ocean. Radar intercept officer Lieutenant Matthew Klemish ejected safely from the plane, and was rescued from the water minutes later. Hultgreen, who was automatically ejected 0.4 seconds after Klemish, rocketed straight into the ocean and was instantly killed. Her body, still strapped in the ejection seat, was recovered 19 days later.

2000s

The carrier's fifth deployment commenced in August 2000, when Abraham Lincoln again traveled to the Persian Gulf in support of Southern Watch. On this deployment, the carrier, air wing, and battle group ships earned the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation. The ship earned the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy as the most improved command in the Pacific Fleet.

Abraham Lincoln was in port on 11 September 2001. The carrier was put to sea on 20 July 2002 to support Operation Enduring Freedom. She took up station once more in support of Operation Southern Watch before taking a port visit to Fremantle, Western Australia. During this time, Abraham Lincoln was ordered to the Persian Gulf to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom. This forced the Navy to extend Abraham Lincoln's stay from 20 January to 6 May 2003. The news of this extension was delivered to the ship's crew on New Year's morning, by the then battle group commander, Rear Admiral Kelly, with the phrase, "We don't need to be home holding our loved ones, we need to be here holding the line. Get over it!". The term "Get over it" became a running joke aboard ship, which eventually led to a deployment patch made aboard that read "Westpac 2003 CVN-72 CVW-14 GET OVER IT", with an image intended to depict an admiral kicking a sailor in the groin.

Abraham Lincoln and the carrier battle group and air wing helped deliver the opening salvos and air strikes in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the air wing's deployment, some 16,500 sorties were flown and 1.6 million pounds of ordnance were used. Sea Control Squadron 35 (VS-35), the "Blue Wolves", was instrumental in delivering over 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) of fuel to these strike aircraft, one of the largest aerial refueling undertakings by a carrier aviation squadron in history.

In May 2003, the carrier returned home, receiving a visit from President George W. Bush before officially ending Abraham Lincoln's deployment by docking at San Diego, before returning to homeport in Everett, Washington. Bush stated at the time that this was the end to major combat operations in Iraq. While this statement did coincide with an end to the conventional phase of the war, Bush's assertion—and a sign displayed during his visit—became controversial after guerrilla warfare in Iraq increased during the Iraqi insurgency. The vast majority of casualties, both military and civilian, occurred after the speech.

The White House said their services constructed the banner. As explained by Commander Conrad Chun, a Navy spokesman, "The banner was a Navy idea, the ship's idea. The idea popped up in one of the meetings aboard the ship preparing for her homecoming and thought it would be good to have a banner, 'Mission Accomplished.' The sailors then asked if the White House could get the sign made. The banner signified the successful completion of the ship's deployment," Cmdr. Chun continued, noting that Abraham Lincoln was deployed 290 days, longer than any other nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in history. This record was broken in 2020.

2010

On 13 January 2010, the carrier completed upgrades and repair that cost $250 million at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The carrier was to be assigned to Carrier Strike Group Nine. On 3 February 2011, the ship was awarded the Battle Effectiveness Award for high standards of excellence and combat readiness.

On 9 December 2010, the US Navy officially announced that Naval Station Everett, Washington, was the new homeport for USS Nimitz, replacing Abraham Lincoln, which would be undergoing a scheduled refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) at the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Newport News shipyard in Virginia, which was slated to begin in 2013.

2011

On 1 March 2011, the news media reported that the US Navy had awarded Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Newport News a US$206.7 million option under a previously awarded contract to plan Abraham Lincoln's RCOH. The planning contract covered the design, documentation, engineering, advanced material procurement, inspections, fabrication, and support work for Abraham Lincoln's RCOH, with more than 1,000 employees supporting this planning phase. Additional funding for the RCOH was pending the passage of the U.S. Department of Defense's Fiscal Year 2011 budget appropriations by the U.S. Congress. Upon authorization, Abraham Lincoln's RCOH was anticipated to begin in 2013, and is scheduled to take between three and four years to complete at an estimated overall cost of US$3 billion.

On 1 August, the US Navy announced that Abraham Lincoln would shift homeport from Everett to Newport News for a scheduled RCOH in August 2012. The ship departed Everett for the deployment that would take the carrier around the world to Newport News in December 2011.

2012

From 6–10 January 2012, accompanied by guided missile cruiser Cape St. George, Abraham Lincoln visited the Gulf of Thailand port of Laem Chabang. During the visit, Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia provided husbanding services, for which the Navy was billed $884,000. In November 2013, federal prosecutors charged that the Navy had been overbilled more than $500,000.

On 22 January, the US Navy announced that Abraham Lincoln had entered the Persian Gulf "without incident." The deployment through the Straits of Hormuz came at a time of escalating tensions with Iran. Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by a strike group of warships, was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to enter the Persian Gulf since late December 2011 and was on a "routine rotation" to replace the outgoing USS John C. Stennis. The departure of John C. Stennis prompted Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi to threaten action if another carrier passed back into the Persian Gulf, saying, "I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf. ... We are not in the habit of warning more than once," The US dismissed the warning.

In June, the actors, crew and producers of the film, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter attended an unconventional preview screening for the over eighteen hundred sailors aboard the namesake vessel of the 16th president. The event marked the first time a major motion picture had its debut screening for troops deployed in the Middle East.

Abraham Lincoln transited the Suez Canal northbound on 16 July and the Strait of Gibraltar on 26 July en route to the United States. On 7 August, Abraham Lincoln arrived at Norfolk Naval Station following an eight-month deployment to the US Navy's 5th, 6th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility, in preparation for the Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News.

2013

On 8 February 2013, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that the scheduled mid-life Refueling and Complex Overhaul intended for Abraham Lincoln would be postponed pending the resolution of the upcoming budget sequestration. This budget shortfall would affect Abraham Lincoln's refueling of her nuclear propulsion plant, and delay the next scheduled mid-life complex overhaul involving George Washington forward-based in Yokosuka, Japan, and the de-fueling of the recently deactivated Enterprise. By March 2013, Naval ship maintenance and overhaul budget issues had been addressed enough such that Abraham Lincoln's RCOH had been confirmed. The ship was made ready to tow over to Newport News Shipbuilding. By mid-March she had been towed over and docked, and the RCOH work began.

2014

On 3 October 2014, Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding said that its workers had transferred a 30-ton anchor from Enterprise, the Navy's first and oldest nuclear carrier, to be installed aboard Abraham Lincoln during that week. The transfer was a result of an anchor replacement on Abraham Lincoln coinciding with the withdrawal of Enterprise, preserving the anchor rather than it being scrapped with the rest of the ship.

2017

On 9 May 2017, Abraham Lincoln got underway for sea trials, following the four-year refueling and complex overhaul. More than 2.5 million man-hours of work were conducted aboard the ship, including refueling the reactors, upgrading ship's infrastructure and modernizing combat systems and air wing capabilities to increase combat effectiveness.

On 12 May, Abraham Lincoln was redelivered to the fleet. On 8 September Abraham Lincoln was deployed with USS Iwo Jima and USS New York to provide aid to Florida following the Hurricane Irma disaster. The vessels joined USS Farragut already on station.

2018

On 2 August 2018, it was announced that Abraham Lincoln would return to San Diego as part of a home port shift for three carriers, thus returning her to the Pacific Fleet. At the end of August, VFA-125 began operating from Abraham Lincoln as an integrated part of CVW-7, the first time that the F-35C had operated integrated cyclic operations, simulating the full spectrum of planned operations.

Also in August, a movie crew was aboard filming flight deck operations and flying sequences for the sequel Top Gun: Maverick off the coast of Virginia.

2019

On 1 April 2019, Abraham Lincoln and Carrier Strike Group 12 departed Norfolk for a six-month deployment that was expected to end with a shift of homeport to San Diego. On 9 April she arrived in the United States Sixth Fleet area of operations, where she would operate in the Mediterranean Sea before proceeding to the Persian Gulf, then the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, before heading across the Pacific Ocean to her new homeport in San Diego.

On 23 April, Abraham Lincoln was reported to have operated simultaneously along with John C. Stennis in the Mediterranean Sea, the two carrier strike groups' operations including more than 130 aircraft, 10 ships, and 9,000 sailors and marines, according to the press release published by the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/US 6th Fleet. The operations were observed from the aircraft carrier by U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman and Admiral James Foggo, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Joint Force Command Naples.

While aboard, Huntsman said: "Diplomatic communication and dialogue coupled with the strong defense these ships provide demonstrate to Russia that if it truly seeks better relations with the United States, it must cease its destabilizing activities around the world." On 5 May this deployment was diverted to the Middle East due to tensions with Iran and headed to the Persian Gulf. Her transit was expedited by omitting a port visit to Split, Croatia.

In October, it was revealed that Abraham Lincoln's Middle East deployment would be extended due to an electrical malfunction on USS Harry S Truman.

2020

Abraham Lincoln arrived in her new homeport in San Diego on 20 January following a record-breaking 295 days at sea, the longest post-Cold War era deployment for a US carrier, breaking her own record in the process.

On 18 December, the Navy announced Captain Amy Bauernschmidt would take command of Abraham Lincoln in the summer of 2021, the first time a woman would command an aircraft carrier.

2021

On 19 August, Captain Bauernschmidt, who previously served as the carrier's executive officer from 2016 to 2019, relieved Captain Walt Slaughter at a change of command ceremony in San Diego.

On 31 August, an MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter, embarked aboard Abraham Lincoln, crashed into the Pacific Ocean at approximately 4:30pm (PDT) while conducting routine flight operations, approximately 60 nautical miles (110 km) off the coast of San Diego. Five crew members were killed. One was rescued during search and rescue operations.

2022

On 4 January, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314) became the first Marine Corps F-35C squadron to be deployed on an aircraft carrier.

On 21 May, Abraham Lincoln steamed into Tokyo Bay to relieve USS Ronald Reagan. The Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was scheduled to participate in RIMPAC 2022.

On 21 September, the water onboard was discovered to be contaminated. Reports were made to the chain of command onboard but the commanding officer, Captain Bauernschmidt, did not inform the crew until the following day, almost 24 hours after initial reports were made. Reports continued throughout the evening, but actions by the engineering staff did little. The contaminated tank was even reintroduced back into service after being taken offline earlier in the day. Test reports of seven water samples revealed the presence of E. coli. Upon receipt of the test results, Captain Bauernschimdt told the crew of the contamination followed by, "before anybody starts freaking out, E. coli is an extremely common bacteria. Matter of fact, every single person on this ship has it in their digestive system right now."

On 11 November, Abraham Lincoln hosted a college basketball game on her deck between Gonzaga University and Michigan State University, won 64–63 by Gonzaga. The carrier suffered a minor fire that injured nine sailors on 29 November. The cause is unknown and an investigation was launched.

2024

On 2 August, the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to relieve USS Theodore Roosevelt operating in the Gulf of Oman, joining other US naval forces in the region as a deterrent against potential Iranian aggression against Israel. On 21 August, the U.S. Central Command announced that the vessel had arrived in the Middle East. Austin had ordered her to speed up in order to help Israel in case of a potential attack from Iran.

On November 9, Marine F-35Cs from Abraham Lincoln carried out strikes on the Houthi movement in Yemen in the context of the Red Sea crisis.

On November 12, the Yemeni Houthi group announced the launch of two military operations described as "qualitative" in the Red and Arabian Seas that lasted eight hours, targeting an aircraft carrier and two US destroyers. At least eight drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles were aimed at USS Stockdale and USS Spruance. All missiles were intercepted or did not hit their targets. There were no injuries or damage to the two destroyers.

Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed the attack on the two destroyers was successful in a post on social media site X. Saree also said the Houthis attacked Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Patrick S. Ryder said he was not aware of any attacks against the aircraft carrier. Supporters of the Houthis and many Indonesian and Singaporean news outlets made false claims about Abraham Lincoln being "damaged and returning home", and even going as far as to say it had sunk. Additional false claims of having damaged or sunk the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Theodore Roosevelt were made by social media users. As of November 2024, there had been no reports of damage to US warships by Houthi attacks.

2026

On 8 January 2026, the carrier took part in a military exercise in the South China Sea, meant to test the Phalanx CIWS in the context of close-range aerial and surface threats. Then, following the protests and massacres in Iran, along with growing tension between Iran and the US, the carrier was reported heading to the Middle East, leaving the South China Sea. According to reports it deployed in the Middle East on 26 January and Trump declared it would hold multi-day aerial military drills on 27 January. It was expected to enter the Strait of Hormuz by 29 January.

On 3 February 2026, while the Lincoln was traveling in the Arabian Sea approximately 500 miles (800 km) from Iran's southern coast, an Iranian Shahed 139 drone flew toward the ship; a US F-35 shot it down.

On 1 March, the IRGC said the Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles. The Pentagon rejected these claims saying the ballistic missiles "weren't even close" to hitting their intended target. On 5 March, the Iranian military again stated that it had struck the Lincoln with a series of drone strikes. Iran would make a third claim on 25 March by firing Qader cruise missiles. The ship was not harmed in all three cases. On 29 March, Shahram Irani, commander of the Iranian navy, threatened the Lincoln if it entered missile range.

Also on 1 March, The New York Times reported that attacks by Iran damaged the US Navy's Naval Support Activity Bahrain base and others, forcing the US to seek and receive access from Great Britain to its base in Diego Garcia. Since that time the US Navy has used Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia as its main shipment point to its forces off Iran. This significantly lengthened the supply line to the Lincoln's operations in the Gulf of Oman as the Bahrain base is approximately 870 miles away, while Diego Garcia is much further at approximately 2,200 miles.

On 20 August The New York Times reported that the Lincoln had set sail that day for home and was expected in San Diego in four to five weeks. It was later reported that on the way home the Lincoln would finally have a port stop in Thailand in early September. The US was keeping twenty warships in The Persian Gulf, including two aircraft carriers, the USS George H. W. Bush and the USS George Washington.

On 22 August a report from The Central Oregon Daily News included a quote from Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle during his visit on 3 June 2026, that the Lincoln "will probably, you know, change homeport to here as well", referring to Naval Base Kitsap in Washington State.