Sailors heave in the line on the fantail of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln at Naval Base Guam on Aug. 8, 2024. (Valerie Morrison/U.S. Navy)
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group pulled away from Guam and Saipan after a four-day respite before heading to the Middle East.
The Abraham Lincoln and destroyers USS O’Kane and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. left Naval Base Guam on Thursday; the destroyer USS Spruance departed Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands the same day, Petty Officer 3rd Class Aleksandr Freutel wrote in a news release posted on Pacific Fleet’s website that day.
On Guam, 20 sailors and Marines assigned to Abraham Lincoln and Carrier Air Wing 9 reunited with more than 75 family members waiting pierside for their homecoming, Freutel wrote.
During their stay, Marines and sailors volunteered for beach, pier and hiking trail cleanups, as well as Island Girl Power, a charitable organization whose mission is to empower young Guamanian girls, according to the release.
They also took advantage of island tours, snorkeling, Jet Ski rentals and cultural barbecues.
“After a busy few weeks conducting flight operations, replenishments-at-sea, and training across the strike group, we are grateful for the opportunity to enjoy the beauty and culture of Guam on our first port call,” the carrier’s commander, Capt. Pete Riebe, said in the release.
The Abraham Lincoln and Carrier Strike Group 3 were ordered on Aug. 2 to relieve the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, which was reportedly in the Persian Gulf that day.
Carrier Air Wing 9 aboard the Abraham Lincoln consists of a Marine F-35C Lightning II squadron, three Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadrons, and electronic attack, airborne early warning and two helicopter squadrons.
U.S. carriers in the Middle East operate under Central Command to defend commercial shipping and allied warships from drone and missile attacks by Houthi militants acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The attacks come almost daily.
CENTCOM on Friday reported its forces had over the previous day destroyed two anti-ship cruise missiles and one ground control station in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The Houthis are backed by Iran, which also supports Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, adversaries of U.S. ally Israel.
One Houthi uncrewed surface vessel was also destroyed in the Red Sea, according to CENTCOM.
The Pentagon announced Aug. 2 it was sending the Abraham Lincoln strike group and an additional fighter squadron and was preparing to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defenses. The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group was already on a routine deployment in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
A bolstered U.S. presence is meant to forestall a wider conflict in the region following the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Hamas is behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed hundreds of civilians and sparked Israel’s invasion of Gaza, a Palestinian territory, where the death toll is about 39,000, according to Gaza health authorities.
