USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand after extended Iran deployment

About 5,000 U.S. sailors and Marines are stopping in the resort city of Pattaya for a “rest and relaxation” break as they return home from a record-setting deployment in the Middle East.

LAEM CHABANG, Thailand — The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier arrived Wednesday at a port in eastern Thailand, where thousands of U.S. sailors and Marines are disembarking for the first time in more than 280 days after a record-setting deployment in the Middle East.

The toll of the more than nine-month deployment, most of it spent supporting military operations in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, was visible on the carrier as it pulled into Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi province. Paint has worn off and the metal underneath is rusted on the 1,092-foot warship, which is one of the largest in the world.

Service members ofrom the USS Abraham Lincoln arrive at a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, on Wednesday.Sakchai Lalit / APThe Lincoln is in Thailand for a four-day “rest and relaxation” stop on its way home to San Diego after having spent weeks in the headlines as the lengthy deployment raised concerns about supply shortages and the effect on sailors’ mental health.

The USS Abraham Lincoln approaching Laem Chabang Port near Pattaya on Wednesday. Mithil Aggarwal / NBC NewsThe U.S. Navy confirmed the ship’s arrival in a statement, saying the Lincoln strike group arrived in Laem Chabang while the destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. docked in nearby Sriracha and the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls went to Map Ta Phut in neighboring Rayong province.

The Navy said it was the Lincoln’s first full port stop after 286 days at sea since the deployment began in November.