By 4am on Thursday, the sky still pitch black, 19-year-old Pvt Grayden Monroe and his mom had arrived to the naval base in San Diego, California, the very first military family members huddled on a set of metal bleachers overlooking the dark water.
asserted
Monroe → arrive → water
They were waiting for Monroe’s 21-year-old sister to step off the USS Abraham Lincoln, the embattled aircraft carrier that has been at sea for the better part of a year.
asserted
that → wait → year
Monroe, a soldier stationed at Fort Campbell, was wearing his army uniform for the occasion.
asserted
Monroe → station → occasion
“I hope she’s proud of me,” he said of his sister, “and I hope she knows damn well that I’m just as proud of her.”
asserted
I → hope → her
As the sun rose over Naval Air Station North Island, thousands of people flooded onto the base for the USS Lincoln’s long-awaited return.
asserted
thousands → rise → return
The atmosphere was a de facto festival, with a live band, performers on stilts, therapy dogs, handmade signs, giant cutouts of sailors’ smiling faces.
asserted
atmosphere → handmade → faces
People cried, laughed, screamed with joy.
asserted
People → cry → joy
When the Lincoln appeared in the middle distance around noon, rounding the corner past downtown, cheers erupted from around the bay.
asserted
cheers → appear → bay
Sailors flanked the edges of the ship in uniform, waving to the crowd and making phone calls to loved ones.
asserted
Sailors → flank → ones
The massive, city-like ship had finally reached land.
asserted
ship → reach → land
Military families and friends have longed for this day for months.
asserted
families → long → months
The Lincoln first left San Diego last November, with an expected return date sometime in the spring.
asserted
Lincoln → leave → spring
But as the US and Israel launched a war with Iran, the aircraft carrier was diverted to the Middle East, extending the deployment for the roughly 5,000 sailors and marines aboard for a then unknown amount of time.
asserted
carrier → launch → time
The Lincoln’s deployment ended up spanning 321 days, including 264 consecutive days at sea without a port call, a record in modern naval history, the Defense Department said.
asserted
Department → end → history
For months, sailors have reported hazardous living conditions aboard the Lincoln: shortages of food and basic supplies, a spate of suicide attempts and a general sense of deteriorating mental health and declining morale.
asserted
sailors → report → health
The reports immediately set off a political firestorm, with Democratic lawmakers calling for an investigation, even as Donald Trump and US defense secretary Pete Hegseth sought to downplay the situation.
asserted
Trump → set → situation
The US navy confirmed last month that eight service members from the Lincoln and its accompanying strike group had attempted suicide since the start of the deployment.
asserted
members → confirm → deployment
After the Lincoln’s return home was officially announced in August, it took the carrier almost two long months to get back to San Diego, making a brief port call in Thailand and then tracing a route east across the Pacific Ocean.
asserted
it → announce → Ocean
An infant in a stroller was positioned with a sign that read “I have waited 234 days to hug my daddy!”
asserted
I → position → daddy
The baby’s mom, Brenda Rivas, said she was five months pregnant when her husband deployed.
asserted
husband → say → ?
He missed the birth, and the first time he was able to see his daughter over a video call was six months later.
asserted
he → miss → call
“It’s mixed emotions,” Rivas said.
asserted
Rivas → ’ → ?
“I’m more sad than excited because he did miss so much.
asserted
he → ’m → much
And an emotional reunion on the pier wasn’t in the cards for everyone, especially for the many military families that are spread across the country.
asserted
that → spread → country
Dawn, a mother who requested that only her first name be used because she feared retaliation from military officials, anxiously watched a live feed of the ship’s arrival from a small town in Texas, her eyes “glued to the TV” for hours.
asserted
eyes → request → hours
“I couldn’t sleep.
asserted
I → sleep → ?
Tossed and turned,” she texted early on Thursday morning.
asserted
she → toss → morning
“I’m feeling so happy for my granddaughter to see her daddy!”
Imagining that the scene in San Diego would be too chaotic, Dawn is instead flying to California next week to reunite with her son and his five-year-old daughter.
asserted
Dawn → feel → son
She’s planning to help him “get everything back in order”: make sure his house is clean, whip up some home-cooked meals.
asserted
house → plan → meals
Over the past 11 months, one thing has been keeping her son sane and tethered to a reality off the ship, she said.
asserted
she → keep → reality
“He said that all he could think about was his daughter,” she said.
uncertain
she → say → ?
“That’s what got him through all this.”
asserted
what → ’ → this
Months of dwindling rations, worsening mental health
As the sailors floated around the globe for the better part of the past year, their relatives sat at home and waited, wondering what could be happening thousands of miles away on the ship.
uncertain
what → dwindle → ship
Dawn’s son sent her updates via WhatsApp whenever he got service.
asserted
he → send → service
This past spring, he told her, the conditions were dire.
asserted
conditions → tell → her
“Like 3rd world … ” he wrote in a message.
asserted
he → write → message
“We couldn’t get soap or toothpaste.”
asserted
We → get → soap
He sent her pictures of mold dripping down the walls, of dwindling daily rations: sectioned cafeteria trays with only a few of the compartments full.
asserted
few → send → compartments
The extended deployment, long working hours and supply shortages seemed to be taking their toll across the ship, especially on the younger sailors, Dawn said.
asserted
Dawn → seem → sailors
She could imagine her son, who’s now in his 30s, being like a father figure to some who were really struggling.
uncertain
who → imagine → some
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
