The USS Abraham Lincoln is heading back home to San Diego after a grueling nine-month deployment, but the families of sailors aboard two of its escort destroyers that have been ordered to stay behind are heartbroken and furious.
The USS Spruance, USS Michael Murphy and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. made up the Lincoln's carrier strike group and were told their mission was to escort and protect the carrier, according to a sailor aboard one of them, but MS NOW reported that only one of them has been ordered back to its home port.
While the Petersen is now headed to its home port in Hawaii, the Murphy and Spruance have not been ordered home to Hawaii and San Diego, respectively, according to family members and a friend with loved ones aboard.
All three destroyers have been deployed alongside the Lincoln since late 2025 — far exceeding the typical seven-month deployment length for a destroyer — and it remains unclear why only one ship is returning while the other two stay behind.
Family members were granted anonymity by MS NOW to discuss a sensitive topic described the toll of the open-ended extension.
"I feel absolutely heartbroken," one family member said, describing severe mental and physical stress and constant worry over their loved one's safety, along with financial and emotional strain from the uncertainty. "I am angry and I feel so defeated," that person said.
That same family member said they were also angry on behalf of their loved one, who has endured the same deteriorating conditions as sailors aboard the Lincoln.
"They experienced the same mental health strain, the same horrid conditions and the constant day and night working hours," they said. "It's so disrespectful that they are being forced to continue to stay out for months on end after the Lincoln had began its return home."
A friend of a sailor aboard another destroyer still at sea said the sailor echoed that frustration, saying they were "pissed off" and didn't understand why the Lincoln – which drew widespread media coverage over its lengthy deployment and poor conditions on board – was prioritized to head home when both ships arrived in the region at the same time.
The friend said they're "praying for them everyday" and hoping the sailors get some "R&R" soon.
The frustration boiled over at an Aug. 6 town hall in San Diego where acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and other Navy leaders told families the strike group was a composite unit and that the Navy intended to bring everyone home together — a plan that has since changed.
Sailors aboard the Spruance and Murphy have reportedly faced many of the same hardships seen aboard the Lincoln, including food and supply shortages, plumbing failures and low morale, according to people in close contact with the crews.