U.S. Navy sailors look out over Guam from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln as the ship arrives for a scheduled port call Dec. 11, 2025. (Daniel Kimmelman/U.S. Navy)
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group pulled into Guam’s Apra Harbor on Thursday, the ship’s first visit to the island since 2024.
The Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by the guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance, USS Michael Murphy and USS Frank E. Peterson Jr., stopped at the island less than three weeks into its deployment, according to a carrier strike group news release Thursday.
The carrier departed Nov. 24 with little fanfare from its homeport in San Diego, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the next day.
The Abraham Lincoln is the second carrier to visit Guam this month; the USS George Washington stopped there Dec. 1 before ending its six-month patrol Thursday at Yokosuka Naval Base.
“My crew is excited to be back in this area of the world, and we look forward to demonstrating what an aircraft carrier and carrier strike group bring to the fight,” Abraham Lincoln’s commander, Capt. Dan Keeler, said in the release. “Our Sailors are eager to learn from new cultures and strengthen partnerships across the region throughout our deployment.”
The Defense Department regularly refers to Guam, the westernmost U.S. territory, as “the tip of the spear” and sees it as a platform for U.S. power projection in the Indo-Pacific. Three major U.S. military installations — Naval Base Guam, Andersen Air Force Base and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz — are there, and it serves as a strategic logistics hub.
“Our Strike Group presence in 7th Fleet waters demonstrates our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” strike group commander Rear Adm. Todd Whalen said in the release. “Port calls to strategic locations like Guam enhance our mission readiness and help us stay ready to execute maritime operations in theater.”
A strike group spokesman did not immediately respond to Stars and Stripes’ email request for additional comments on Friday.
The carrier last visited Guam in November 2024 for a brief respite before heading to the Middle East to relieve its sister ship, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East in a bid to prevent conflicts between Israel and Iran and its proxies from escalating.
