Topline
The USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to port at San Diego, the New York Times first reported on Thursday, after a marathon nine month deployment in the Middle East that saw combat in the ongoing war in Iran and allegations of a mental health crisis among crewmembers.
Key Facts
The USS Abraham Lincoln, carrying roughly 5,000 troops, began traveling back to the U.S. on Thursday, the Times reported, after another carrier group arrived to replace them.
Earlier on Thursday, U.S. Central Command posted an image of the USS George Washington, a carrier previously deployed in Asia, operating in the Arabian Sea—one week after the Wall Street Journal first reported the carrier would replace the Abraham Lincoln in supporting ongoing operations in the region.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.