The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln pulls into Guam, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (Kassandra Alanis/U.S. Navy)
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln steamed into Naval Base Guam over the weekend for a port call ahead of its mission to the Middle East.
The carrier arrived Sunday, according to information posted on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System and Naval Base Guam’s Facebook page.
“The carrier is making its first scheduled port visit for 2024 to Guam to provide the crew time to tour the island, get some rest and relaxation, and participate in several community service events,” the Facebook post said.
The Abraham Lincoln left San Diego, its homeport, on July 11 for the Pacific and the 7th Fleet area of operations, USNI News reported Friday. The carrier was in the vicinity of Hawaii on July 29 and en route to Guam.
Petty Officer 1st Class Aubriaunne DuPont, a logistics specialist aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, poses with family and friends on a pier at Naval Base Guam, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (Nathaly Cruz/U.S. Navy)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East, where U.S. forces are assembling to forestall an attack against Israel, according to a Pentagon statement Friday from spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
Iran and its allies Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen are expected to meet Thursday in Tehran to confer on possible retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, according to Reuters news agency on Friday.
Haniyeh’s killing and Iran’s response have stoked fears of a wider war.
Iran and Hamas hold Israel responsible, but Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s death hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president Wednesday, the agency reported.
“The Department of Defense continues to take steps to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran’s partners and proxies,” Singh said in the statement.
Austin ordered the Abraham Lincoln to the area to relieve the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked, is also deployed to the region.
Houthi insurgents in south Yemen, in support of Hamas’ war with Israel in Gaza, have harassed commercial shipping and allied warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with drones and missiles supplied by Iran.
U.S. warships fend off attacks almost daily while sending aircraft to strike at targets in Yemen.
Hamas vowed that Haniyeh’s killing would “take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions,” according to a statement from the group cited by Reuters. Iran said the U.S. bore responsibility because of its support for Israel, the agency reported.
