Nearly five thousand sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Pattaya, Thailand in early September after 250 days at sea — one of the longest carrier deployments in recent memory. Having spent nine months conducting operations in a volatile Middle East, the crew sought not spectacle but simplicity: the freedom to walk, to shop, to exist without the weight of confinement. It is a quiet reminder that those who carry the instruments of geopolitical power are, beneath their uniforms, ordinary people hungry for ordinary things.
USS Abraham Lincoln sailors find respite in Thailand after record 250-day deployment
Sailors experienced low morale during extended deployment in conflict zone; families endured months of uncertainty and separation.
War & Conflict