- The previous record, set by the Lincoln during a July 2002 - May 2003 deployment in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, was 290 days.
- During the course of the most recent deployment, the Lincoln shattered that record, sailed around the world, and sent warnings to both Russia and Iran.
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Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shatters US Navy's record for longest post-Cold War deployment with 10-month around-the-world tour
As of Friday, the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been deployed for 291 days, making its nearly 10-month deployment the longest ship deployment since the end of the Cold War.
The Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has broken the record for the longest post-Cold War deployment.
CVN-72 has been deployed for more than 290 days, the record this ship set nearly two decades ago. During its 10-month deployment, this flattop has sailed around the entire world, conducted operations with partners, and even challenged two American adversaries.
When the Lincoln left Norfolk, Va. on April 1, 2019, she was expected to deploy for seven months.The flattop deployed with Carrier Air Wing 7, cruiser Leyte Gulf, and destroyers Mason, Bainbridge and Nitze, a force of more than 6,000 people.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zachary Pearson/Released
Shortly after the deployment began, the powerful armada sailed through the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean, at one point sending a message to Russia in joint operations with the USS John C. Stennis.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeremiah Bartelt
Source: Business Insider
On May 5, 2019, plans unexpectedly changed. The Trump administration ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East to send an "unmistakable message" to Iran.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Dan Snow/Released
Source: White House
Tensions between the US and Iran have sharply increased over the past year, with the two countries occasionally exchanging fire and inching dangerously close to war.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Wilbur
The Lincoln did not leave the Middle East for seven months which had been the expected length of the entire deployment. In December, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which suffered an electrical malfunction that forced the extension of the Lincolns deployment, arrived in the region, allowing CVN-72 to start making its way toward its new home port in San Diego, Calif.
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Pearson/U.S. Navy via AP
CVN-72s extra-long deployment was extended a total of four times. "This certainly was outside what anybody would characterize as a normal" deployment, Capt. Walter Slaughter, the Lincolns commanding officer, told Military.com. "There were extraordinary circumstances."
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Michael Singley/Released
Source: Military.com
Families of crew members, some of which moved across the country when the ship changed ports, have criticized the extended deployment.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aja B. Jackson
"Thats sometimes how it goes," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said Wednesday. "I dont make any apologies for that," he added, saying that if he had a better solution, he would have offered it.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kory Alsberry
Source: Military.com
The previous record for the longest post-Cold War deployment was set by the Lincoln on May 6, 2003, when this flattop finally returned to its home port after a 290-day deployment that began on July 20, 2002. That extended deployment supported the USs invasion of Iraq that began on March 20, 2003.
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Michael B. W. Watkins
Source: US Navy
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