PATTAYA, Thailand-When the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and one of its destroyers docked in Thailand earlier this week, it was a welcome relief for thousands of sailors whose record-setting deployment in the Middle East drew controversy over reports of deteriorating conditions on board.

Interviews with more than a dozen sailors from the Lincoln and the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. painted a picture of the strain the Iran war has put on the U.S. military-but also the resilience of the troops fighting there.

During their first shore leave after nine months at sea, the sailors spoke about long stretches when they couldn't speak with family at home and the stress of not knowing when the deployment would end. For some, it affected their willingness to continue in military service.

"This deployment was a deal breaker for a lot of people," said Lucas Shepardson, 24, a machinist's mate on the Petersen, adding that he won't renew his contract when he returns to his home port in Hawaii. "People just realized they don't want to do this for another 20 years."

Most of the sailors said they were proud of carrying out their mission. Despite the long hours and challenging conditions of operating for months in a war zone, the experience deepened the camaraderie among the crew, they said.

Of roughly 280 days at sea, the Lincoln and Petersen spent around 200 in an active combat zone, playing a central role in Operation Epic Fury and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Sailors can usually expect some downtime on land every 30 to 45 days. But the more than 5,000 men and women on the two ships made only short port stops-in Guam and Oman for the Lincoln and in Oman and the Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia for the Petersen-before docking in eastern Thailand for a five-day leave.

Such long deployments could become more common. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has recently extended troop deployments in the Middle East, including for warship crews, air-defense units and paratroopers, in a sign that the conflict could drag well into next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Navy didn't respond to a request for comment.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the U.S. military commander for the Middle East, has described the Lincoln's deployment as "one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era." The Lincoln strike group shot down more than 200 Iranian drones, Cooper said in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal on Aug. 16.

The carrier was caught up in the controversy over President Trump's war in Iran. Reports of food rationing, clogged toilets and mental-health challenges sparked intense criticism from Democratic lawmakers. Trump said in August the Lincoln's deployment had lasted "not nearly long enough."

Some veterans of other conflicts also suggested that today's Navy personnel were going soft. In interviews, sailors said such remarks were unfair and didn't reflect the unique challenge of being deployed at sea for more than nine months or the quality of their work.

U.S. Central Command said one sailor on the Lincoln fell overboard in early August but was quickly recovered. Several sailors on the Lincoln told the Journal that the sailor had jumped. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has said that "a small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life" and that sailor retention rates on the Lincoln were among the highest of all carriers.

The intensity of the operations took a toll on the Lincoln, whose squadrons flew more than 10,000 sorties during the deployment.

According to four crew members, the unusually high number of sorties by the carrier's aircraft wore down some of the special nonskid coating on the deck's surface. That meant the deck was slippery when wet, but the sailors said they managed these conditions without feeling unsafe.

Bryan Clark, director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute, said it's normal for the nonskid surface to get worn down. Crew will often strip and recoat worn spots during port calls, something that likely wasn't possible during the Lincoln's many months at sea, Clark said.

Despite its long deployment, the Lincoln avoided some of the accidents that have afflicted other carriers on recent deployments, including during Operation Epic Fury.

In July, a sailor died when a helicopter from the USS George H.W. Bush crashed into the Arabian Sea. A fire on the USS Gerald R. Ford that originated in the ship's laundry in March injured two sailors and left 600 others without sleeping berths while deployed in the Middle East.

In October 2025, the USS Nimitz lost a helicopter and a jet fighter within 30 minutes of each other while sailing through the South China Sea. In April that year, another jet fighter fell off the USS Harry S. Truman while deployed to fight Houthi militants in the Red Sea, just weeks after it collided with a merchant vessel.

The Navy attributed the incidents on the Truman in part to staffing shortages on the carrier and fatigue among overworked sailors.

Crews on carriers, destroyers and cruisers typically work 12-hour shifts, six days a week. The vessels' passageways and sleeping quarters are narrow and claustrophobic. Junior sailors sleep in tiny bunks, known as racks, with little privacy or personal space.

Some sailors on the Lincoln said they had been allocated extra time off after their deployment was extended beyond its original end-date in May. The crew tried to keep up morale with activities such as spelling bees or lip-syncing competitions.

Early on, sailors on the Lincoln and the Petersen said the Wi-Fi on the ships was turned off for around two months for operational security. With the exception of around a two-week period, most sailors on the Petersen still had access to email on shared computers with a secure internet connection, said Shepardson, the machinist's mate.

Still, sailors said that having no Wi-Fi made communicating with family and friends challenging, since there are often queues for the shared computers.

At times, meal portions became smaller to ensure they would last as the fighting made resupplying the vessels more difficult. At one point, the Lincoln had to pass some of its supplies to the Petersen, according to four sailors, including three who worked in food services.

Michael Gonzales, a sailor on the Petersen, said that there were days when he felt hungry, but other sailors said they always received enough.

"I feel we were fed the needed amount each day," Shepardson said. "Yes, it was less, but it was definitely enough."

All of the sailors who spoke with the Journal agreed the toughest part was not knowing when the deployment would end, as the days ran together and exhaustion worsened. Morale fell when return dates were repeatedly extended.

After this deployment, the Lincoln and most of its sailors are expected to be reassigned to Bremerton, Wash., rather than their current home port in San Diego. Uncertainty over the timing of that move added to the stress for sailors with families, especially those with school-age children, several said.

Peacetime deployments of U.S. aircraft carriers typically last six to eight months. In recent years, however, more deployments have become longer. The Ford was at sea for 11 months before it returned home last May, making it the longest-deployed aircraft carrier in decades, although it didn't go as long without a port visit as the Lincoln.