Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, visited the USS Abraham Lincoln on Wednesday to deliver a message of profound empathy to sailors who have spent over 260 consecutive days at sea without a port call - a navy record - telling them their deployment "wasn't easy."

Which is a bit like telling someone who just ran a marathon in flip-flops that it looked uncomfortable. For months, reports had emerged of supply shortages and deteriorating mental health onboard. Hegseth, however, used his remarks to play down those issues, instead condemning "a few folks in the media" who he accused of trying to "turn" the Lincoln's deployment "into some sort of symbol of dysfunction, or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission."

"I never say this lightly, but I'm the one who signed that orders go twice to extend you," said Hegseth, who has pledged to restore the "warrior ethos" to the US military. "I plead guilty." A confession delivered with all the gravity of someone admitting they ate the last donut.

Hegseth then announced that those onboard the vessel - set to arrive in San Diego later this week - would receive the presidential unit citation, which the US military confers on units "for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy." Because nothing says "heroism against an armed enemy" quite like surviving a resupply chain that collapsed under the weight of its own logistics.

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group "did what no other carrier strike group has ever done," he declared. "We asked you to do more, and you know what you did? You did more. And it wasn't easy, and there wasn't easy resupply."

The carrier, with roughly 5,000 sailors and marines onboard, left San Diego in November 2025, initially bound for the Pacific and expected to return in the spring. But after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, the Lincoln was redirected to the Middle East to support US operations in the region. Its deployment was extended, and the carrier spent over 250 consecutive days at sea without a port visit, setting a navy record, as the war disrupted regional resupply routes and traditional hubs. Adm Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command, described the deployment as "one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era."

As Donald Trump struggled to end the war with Iran and the Lincoln's deployment dragged on, reports emerged over the summer of shortages of food and basic supplies, and deteriorating mental health and morale among some crew members, including that two crew members had attempted to jump overboard. Senior Trump administration officials dismissed the reports at the time. Hegseth claimed they "completely misrepresented" reality, while Trump, when asked in August whether the deployment had gone on too long, responded, "Not nearly long enough" - a remark that upset some naval families, who presumably found the president's comedic timing less than impeccable.

The reports about conditions on the Lincoln caused concern among some military health experts, veterans and families of sailors onboard, and drew outrage from Democratic lawmakers, including several who demanded more information from the Pentagon.

The Lincoln was relieved from its deployment later in August, as the USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived in the Middle East to take its place. But in recent weeks, as the Lincoln headed back to San Diego, a new disclosure renewed scrutiny: acting navy secretary Hung Cao acknowledged last month that eight service members from the Lincoln and its strike group had attempted suicide during the deployment. He was responding to questions from Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democratic senator.

As Hegseth delivered his remarks on the Lincoln, Gillibrand criticized him, stating that "our service members deserve better than a photo-op. They deserve real accountability for this administration's failures." Other Democratic lawmakers have requested that navy leaders provide an accounting of the eight suicide attempts, and have asked navy leaders to detail the steps they will take to "protect sailors' mental health and wellbeing during future extended deployments."

As the Lincoln returns home this week, another aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, was recently dispatched to the Middle East. Navy officials have said they are taking steps to prevent similar problems during future deployments, including loading up the vessel with additional supplies and improving communication with families - a novel strategy that historians may one day describe as "bringing enough food and letting people call home."