Two US navy destroyers stay deployed as USS Abraham Lincoln heads home: report

Two US Destroyers remain at sea as USS Abraham Lincoln heads Home after nine-month deployment amid the Iran war, according to a report on US media.

While the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln steams toward San Diego after a grueling nine-month deployment that included extended combat operations in support of the war with Iran, roughly 600 sailors aboard two of its escorting guided-missile destroyers are staying behind and will remain deployed.

The carrier, which left San Diego in November 2025 for what was planned as a shorter Indo-Pacific mission before shifting to the Middle East, has been relieved by the Japan-based USS George Washington.

The Lincoln spent about 200 days in a combat zone and more than 250 consecutive days at sea with limited port calls.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced the carrier’s return, stating the ship “crushed their deployment and will return home soon as part of a planned rotation,” while saying that “the safety and security of our Sailors and Marines always comes first.”

Initially, the three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that formed part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group—USS Spruance, USS Michael Murphy, and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr.—were told their mission was to escort and protect the carrier, according to a sailor aboard one of the ships who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss operations.

The three vessels and their approximately 1,000 sailors have been deployed with the Lincoln since late 2025, exceeding the typical seven-month deployment length for destroyers.

Now the Lincoln is heading home without two of them.

The USS Michael Murphy (homeported in Hawaii) and USS Spruance (homeported in San Diego) have not been ordered to return, according to family members and a friend with loved ones on the ships.

The USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. is en route to its home port in Hawaii, a family member of a sailor aboard that destroyer said.

It remains unclear why only one of the three destroyers is returning while the other two stay.

A spokesperson for the U.S. 7th Fleet said, “The composition of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group continually changes based on mission requirements.”

A U.S. official added that “it is not uncommon for carrier strike groups to disaggregate on deployment.”

The decision has frustrated families. At an Aug. 6 town hall at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, Navy leaders, including Acting Secretary Cao, told families the strike group was a composite unit that the Navy intended to bring home together.

That plan has changed. Sailors on the Spruance and Murphy have faced many of the same reported challenges as those on the Lincoln, including shortages of food and supplies, plumbing failures, and low morale, according to people in close contact with crew members.

“I feel absolutely heartbroken,” one family member of a sailor on one of the remaining destroyers said, describing severe mental and physical stress and constant worry about safety, along with emotional and financial strain.

“I am angry and I feel so defeated.” Another relative of a sailor who has been alongside the Lincoln since late last year called the situation “so disrespectful,” noting the crews “experienced the same mental health strain, the same horrid conditions and the constant day and night working hours” yet are being required to stay “for months on end after the Lincoln had began its return home.”

A friend of a sailor on one of the ships still at sea reported the sailor was “pissed off” and did not understand why the Lincoln was prioritized when the ships arrived in the region together.

The Navy has not announced return dates for the two remaining destroyers.