The carrier strike group arrived at Guam’s Kilo Wharf on the evening of Sept. 19 and departed the next day after taking on supplies, mail and equipment, according to a statement from Carrier Strike Group‑3 spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Tyler Barker. Because the stop was brief, the crew was granted on‑base liberty to use base services and attend a Navy‑Entertainment‑sponsored concert.
Lincoln is now 307 days into her deployment, just 19 days shy of the 326‑day record set earlier this year by the USS Gerald R. Ford. The carrier is expected to continue eastward across the Pacific and reach her homeport at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego in early October, unless an additional stop—such as Hawaii—is added to the itinerary.
While Lincoln heads home, two other supercarriers remain on station in the Middle East supporting the U.S. naval blockade, and the USS Ronald Reagan has rejoined the fleet after completing a Drydocking Planned Incremental Availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Reagan is now listed as “capable and mission‑ready,” though the Navy declined to comment on future deployment dates.
The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Daryl Caudle, indicated in June that Lincoln may eventually shift her homeport to Naval Base Kitsap‑Bremerton in Washington, where she would begin a future DPIA. No firm timeline for that maintenance period has been released.
The brief Guam stop underscores the logistical rhythm of carrier operations: after a five‑day liberty port call in Thailand, Lincoln topped off her escort in the Gulf of Thailand, conducted joint training with two Royal Australian Navy frigates in the South China Sea, and transited the Balabac and Surigao Straits before disappearing from public tracking for a few days and reappearing in Guam.