Abraham Lincoln strike group destroyer returns home after 301 days at sea

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — The guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. returned to Hawaii on Monday after a 301-day deployment in which its crew defended ships against more than 100 missile and drone attacks during the U.S. war with Iran, according to the ship’s commander.

The destroyer operated with Carrier Strike Group 3, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and spent months in the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Epic Fury.

The Frank E. Petersen Jr. left Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Dec. 1 and was operating in the South China Sea in January when it was ordered to the Middle East, Capt. Casey Mahon told reporters dockside Monday after most of the crew had disembarked to a throng of waiting family and friends.

“And like any good Navy ship, you’re ready for that next mission,” he said. “Certainly wasn’t what we expected to happen on deployment.”

Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28, with major combat operations continuing until a temporary ceasefire was announced April 7. U.S. forces then shifted to a standby posture as the Navy contended with Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and occasional drone and missile attacks.

Mahon served as commander of integrated air and missile defense for the Abraham Lincoln strike group.

“So, we made sure that we kept dozens of ships safe against a variety of different attacks, missile attacks, drone attacks,” he said.

Capt. Casey Mahon, commander of the USS Frank E. Peterson Jr., speaks with reporters dockside after arriving at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Sept. 28, 2026. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes)

The Frank E. Petersen Jr. defended against more than 100 missile or drone attacks directed at the strike group or other ships in the region, Mahon said.

The Frank E. Petersen Jr. and guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy were the first ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz after major combat operations ended in early April, Mahon said.

“That was quite a quite a voyage, as you can imagine,” he said.

Sending the destroyers through the strait was intended “to show that free transit, free passage, was available,” Mahon said.

“Obviously, there were threats we had to face while we did that, both on the sea and under the sea, and in the air,” he said. “And we defended ourselves and made the transit through and came back out again.”

The prolonged Middle East deployment took a toll on sailors across the Abraham Lincoln strike group.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said last week that eight service members assigned to the strike group attempted suicide during the deployment. The Abraham Lincoln, which went 264 days without a port call, is returning to San Diego.

Family and friends of the crew of the USS Frank E. Peterson Jr. await the ship’s arrival at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Sept. 28, 2026. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes)

Mahon said there were no reports of suicidal ideation among the Frank E. Petersen Jr.’s crew during its deployment, which covered 85,000 nautical miles.

“We certainly had some folks who maybe needed a bit more care than others, and we made sure they got that care,” he said.

The longest stretch the Frank E. Petersen spent underway without a port visit was 106 days, Mahon said.

“I think you can’t do a 10-month deployment like that without really having to really dive deep into the resiliency factor,” he said.

Mahon said the ship’s command master chief came up with one unconventional outlet: a “meme wall” where sailors could express how they were feeling during the deployment.

“And you know, some of them, they’re edgy,” he said. “They’re edgy memes, but that’s the kind of thing you have to do.”