The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) has left the Middle East after 274 days deployed, with the carrier strike group now operating in the Indian Ocean under U.S. 7th Fleet, according to USNI. The carrier departed San Diego on Nov. 25 and has been at sea since its last port visit in Guam on Dec. 11—more than eight months without a port call, breaking the previous 206-day record set by USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unusually long deployment was compounded by the loss of regional logistics hubs following Iranian attacks, forcing Navy supply ships to travel thousands of miles to sustain the carrier and other forces operating in the Arabian Sea. The Navy says resupply problems improved after new supply lines were established. Lincoln is being replaced in the region by the forward deployed USS George Washington (CVN-73), which arrived two days ago and will join USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) to maintain a two carrier presence amid the war with Iran. From the Western Indian Ocean, it will take Lincoln 3-4 weeks to transit across the Pacific back to San Diego. An open question is whether the ship will make a port call on the way home, which would extend the deployment a few days. The Navy is now dealing with a broader pattern of extended deployments: USNI notes that carrier deployments since October 2023 have averaged about 8½ months, while USS Gerald R. Ford recently completed a record 326-day deployment. Source: