SITE NAVIGATION

SHIP SPECIFIC INFORMATION

TYPE	AIRCRAFT CARRIER (CVN)
CLASS	NIMITZ
OFFICIAL NAME	USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN
PENNANT NUMBER	72
NICKNAME	N/A
MOTTO	SHALL NOT PERISH
BUILDER	NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING
CONTRACT AWARD DATE	09/30/1980
KEEL LAYING DATE	12/27/1982
LAUNCH DATE	02/13/1988
DELIVERY DATE	10/30/1989
COMMISSION DATE	11/11/1989
PLANNING YARD	NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD, NORFOLK, VA
NAVSEA PMS	312
CUSTODIAN	US NAVY
STATUS	ACTIVE DUTY
HOMEPORT	EVERETT, WA
MAILING ADDRESS	FPO, AP, 96612-2872
UIC (UNIT IDENT. CODE)	21297
TYPE COMMANDER	AIRPAC
FLEET COMMAND	N/A
GROUP COMMAND	CRUDESGRU 3
SQUADRON COMMAND	N/A

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

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CVN 72 | USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Namesake:

President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died in 1818, and his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnson, inspired the ambitious but unschooled boy to discipline and educate himself. The legendary stories of Lincoln reading by firelight enabled him to overcome a very limited formal education to become one of the greatest statesman this country has ever known.

By 1830, the Lincoln family had moved to Illinois. Following two trips to New Orleans on a flatboat, Lincoln settled in New Salem, Illinois, and held down modest jobs while studying law on his own. In 1835, he entered the Illinois State legislature, where he served four terms. His political career led him to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1847, but it was his eloquently stated antislavery views, expressed during his famous senatorial debates with Stephen Douglass, which gained Lincoln a national following.

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln received the presidential nomination of the new antislavery Republican Party. Although he had stated a willingness to tolerate slavery where it existed, Lincoln's election as the 16th president of the United States on November 6, 1860 precipitated the secession of the southern states and the formation of the Confederacy.

In the years of the civil war that followed, the inexperienced Lincoln proved to be one of the most extraordinary political and moral leaders the nation has ever seen. He first defined the war as a fight over secession rather than slavery. However, when the time was right, Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation (Sept. 1862), turning the war into a crusade against slavery. With his immortal Gettysburg Address, Lincoln further defined the war as a struggle for the preservation of the democratic idea, defined by a "government of the people, by the people, for the people."

Abraham Lincoln served his country during one of its most bloody and trying times. As Commander in Chief, the victory of the Union over the confederacy was his, and he had every right to treat the southern states with malice and contempt. Instead, he treated them with dignity and honor, gladly accepting their return to the union. He did not view them as enemies, but as brothers. He did not exalt in their defeat, but glorified that the nation "Shall not perish."

Abraham Lincoln will be forever remembered for his vital role as the leader who preserved the Union and began a process that led to the end of slavery in the United States. Master of both biblical eloquence and a homespun vernacular, and a natural at combining practical politics with moral principals, in just four short years as president, Abraham Lincoln established why he is one of the few Americans who truly "belongs to the ages."

Historical Notes:

USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) is America’s fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The ship was named in honor of our nation’s 16th president and is the second ship in the U.S. Navy to bear his name. The ballistic missile submarine ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN 602) was in service 1961-81. ABRAHAM LINCOLN’s keel was laid Nov. 3, 1984 at Newport News, Va. Four years later the ship was christened and began a series of performance trials leading up to commissioning Nov. 11, 1989 at Norfolk, Va.

After completing shakedown and acceptance trials, ABRAHAM LINCOLN departed Norfolk in September 1990 for an interfleet transfer from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The ship completed a transit around South America with the naval forces of several South American countries including Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

On May 28, 1991, ABRAHAM LINCOLN made its maiden Western Pacific deployment nearly four months ahead of schedule in response to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. While enroute to the Indian Ocean, the ship was diverted to support evacuation operations following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo on Luzon Island, Republic of the Philippines. Operation Fiery Vigil became the largest peacetime evacuation of active duty military personnel and family members in history. ABRAHAM LINCOLN led a 23-ship armada that sealifted 20,000 evacuees. The armada moved nearly 45,000 people from the Subic Bay Naval Station to the Visayas Province port of Cebu.

With Operation Fiery Vigil completed, the ship took up station in the Arabian Gulf in support of allied and U.S. troops remaining in the region for Operation Desert Storm. CVW-11, the embarked air wing, provided combat air patrol, reconnaissance and support air operations over Kuwait and Iraq. ABRAHAM LINCOLN remained in the Gulf for more than three months.

The ship spent early 1992 in a selected restricted availability (SRA) at Naval Air Station Alameda. It deployed again June 15, 1993 for the Western Pacific. After a brief port visit to Hong Kong, it returned to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, the U.N.-sanctioned enforcement of a "no fly zone" over Southern Iraq.

In October 1993, ABRAHAM LINCOLN was ordered to the coast of Somalia to assist U.N. humanitarian operations. The carrier spent four weeks flying patrols over the city of Mogadishu and surrounding areas, backing American ground troops during Operation Restore Hope. After returning from deployment in December 1993, ABRAHAM LINCOLN spent several months in SRA and prepared for the next deployment.

In April 1995, ABRAHAM LINCOLN departed on its third Western Pacific deployment. The ship made visits to Hong Kong and Singapore on the way to the Arabian Gulf. In the Gulf, ABRAHAM LINCOLN lent support to Operation Southern Watch in response to renewed Iraqi military posturing. The ABRAHAM LINCOLN Battle Group also participated in Operation Vigilant Sentinel.

Upon returning from deployment, ABRAHAM LINCOLN left Alameda, Calif., for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash. There the ship underwent a one-year comprehensive overhaul including a period in drydock. Following completion of the project, the ship moved to its current homeport of Everett, Wash. Jan. 8, 1997.

In June 1998, ABRAHAM LINCOLN commenced her fourth deployment, spending three months in the Arabian Gulf during the hottest summer on record. Apparent temperatures on the flight deck at midday sometimes reached 150 degrees Fahrenheit! Port visits enroute to the Gulf included Hong Kong and Singapore. After several visits to Jebel Ali, UAE, between Operation Southern Watch missions, Abe headed home by way of Perth, Australia, Hobart, Tasmania, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, arriving in Everett before the Christmas holiday.

Following a well-deserved break, the ship visited Santa Barbara, California and Victoria, British Columbia, then commenced a six-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) in Bremerton, Washington in April 1999. After completion of the PIA in September 1999, Abe participated in Fleet Week ’99 in San Francisco, California. The crew then began a nine- month Inter-Deployment Training Cycle (IDTC) during which the ship revisited Santa Barbara and Victoria before participating in RIMPAC 2000, a multi-national exercise conducted off the Hawaiian Islands. RIMPAC completed the IDTC and prepared the ship for WESTPAC 2000, a major deployment to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf.

During deployment, the ship spent more than 100 days on station supporting Operation Southern Watch and maritime interception operations. For their performance, the carrier, air wing and battle group ships earned the Navy Meritorius Unit Commendation. Additionally the ship earned the prestigious Arleigh Burke Award as the most improved command in the Pacific Fleet.

In April of 2001, the ship moved to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a scheduled six month Planned Incremental Availability. After completing PIA in October, ABRAHAM LINCOLN began workup exercises for its next deployment.