For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 1, 2003

President Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended
Event Backgrounder
The President Visits the USS Abraham Lincoln

BACKGROUND

USS Abraham Lincoln set the record for the longest naval deployment by a nuclear powered aircraft carrier in history, deploying for almost 10 months, and steaming over 100,000 miles. For a Carrier Strike Group, this is the longest deployment in the last 30 years. The USS Lincoln Strike Group was involved in combat in support of three major operations: Operation Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Click here for a USS Abraham Lincoln photo essay.

The Air Wing will depart the USS Lincoln while off the coast of San Diego on May 1. The ship will then pull into Naval Air Station North Island (San Diego) on May 2 to off load the rest of the Air Wing equipment. The Lincoln will return to her homeport of Everett, Washington on May 6.

The Lincoln supported one of the largest media embed operations on any ship in naval history by embarking 31 media organizations that included CNN, MSNBC, the BBC, Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times.

FACTS ABOUT THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Virginia
Power Plant: Two nuclear reactors, four shafts
Length: 1,092 feet
Width: 252 feet
Speed: 30+ knots (34.5+ mph)
Takeoffs and Traps: 12,675
Sorties: 16,500
42,107 gallons of Milk were consumed
27,275 pounds of steak were consumed
29,000 pounds of hamburger consumed
2,403 gallons of ice cream consumed
227 root canals performed

PARTICIPANTS Rear Admiral John Kelly, Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Three
Captain Kendall L. Card, Commanding Officer USS Abraham Lincoln
Captain Kevin Albright, Commander, Carrier Air Wing Fourteen
Commander Ron Horton, Executive Officer, USS Abraham Lincoln