The USS Lincoln Earned Its Presidential Unit Citation. The Best Thanks Is a Navy Big Enough That No Crew Does 321 Days Again
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth honored the Abraham Lincoln strike group on Oct. 7, a day before its record-setting homecoming. In our view, the award is earned, and the strain on the crew is a call for Congress to build and fund a larger fleet.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 11, 2026 | 6-min read On Thursday, the USS Abraham Lincoln sailed into San Diego Bay draped in red, white and blue, and about 5,000 sailors came home after more than 10 months away [1]. A day earlier, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth flew out to the carrier and presented its strike group with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest decoration a unit can receive for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy [2]. In our view, the honor is earned and the nation owes this crew its thanks. We also owe them something more lasting: a Navy large enough that no crew has to carry this load alone again. Key Takeaways The Lincoln completed a 321-day deployment, including 264 consecutive days at sea without a port call, breaking the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower's 2020 record of 206 days, the Pentagon says [2]. Hegseth credited the strike group with 3,693 combat sorties, 450 Tomahawk launches, 77 drones shot down and 64 Iranian warships sunk [2]. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed in September that eight sailors from the strike group attempted suicide