Published: 04:56 BST, 2 September 2026 | Updated: 06:51 BST, 2 September 2026
The USS Abraham Lincoln has docked at a Thailand resort town following an extended deployment of more than 200 days in which they faced grueling conditions.
The US Navy aircraft carrier stopped in the resort city of Pattaya on Wednesday, where the 5,000 sailors and Marines on board will have the chance to unwind before heading back to the United States, the Navy announced.
'Our arrival in Laem Chabang provides a well-deserved opportunity for our Sailors and Marines to rest and recharge,' Rear Admiral Robert Loughran, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3, said in a statement.
'It also underscores the strong and enduring partnership and alliance between the United States and Thailand.'
Officials in the city are now hoping it will become an 'important vacation spot' for US service members in the future, Newsweek reports.
'We welcome more visits of the troops in the future, whether for a drill or a vacation, before they go back to the US,' Mayor Poramet Ngampichet is said to have told American military officials.
The trip marks a much-needed break for the American servicemembers, who had been at sea since November 21 amid the war in Iran.
But city officials have also implemented a series of rules for the sailors after speaking with American military officials.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is pictured arriving at Laem Chabang Port on Wednesday following its extended deployment to the Middle East
Pattaya had started off as a fishing village, but became a tourism center during the Vietnam War, when US servicemembers were stationed nearby
Pattaya had started off as a fishing village but became a tourism center during the Vietnam War, when US servicemembers were stationed nearby.
It has since developed a reputation for sex tourism, but ahead of the ship's arrival on Wednesday, authorities in the city launched a crackdown on prostitution.
Police raids over the weekend saw 40 to 50 people detained with additional patrols in place for the main beachfront and nightlife district, the Independent reports.
The mayor has denied that the crackdown on sex work was related to the arrival of US servicemembers.
