00:00To the Lincoln, it's an absolute honor to be with you today as you return home
00:08from what can only be described as a historic mission. And I just had a chance moments ago on
00:14the flight deck to look a number of you in the eye and I wish I could do with each
00:18of you one
00:18on one, shake your hand and thank you in person. But I'm here today on behalf of the President
00:23of the United States to make sure you understand how deeply grateful we are and how much we want
00:28to showcase and recognize the historic undertaking of this strike group. 10 and a half, almost 11 months,
00:38two extensions in the middle of a combat zone, over 10,000 flights, 23,000 flight hours, 1.5 million
00:50pounds of weapons, bombs, ordnance dropped, 64 naval Iranian Navy ships sunk. I could go on and on with
01:01the back of your baseball card. It's the back of your baseball card that will be remembered in history
01:07and rightfully so because you were called upon by your nation for an important and significant and
01:14generational mission to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Theocratic regimes should
01:21never have access to nuclear weapons. President Trump recognizes that and he called upon the Lincoln
01:26from day one to execute on that. And you went over a hundred hours of constant combat flight operations
01:34in those first days of epic fury and brought exactly the namesake to the Iranians, epic fury, ensuring
01:46that they don't have a Navy, they don't have an Air Force, their air defenses are destroyed, their defense
01:50industrial base gone, their ability to rebuild in tatters and of course their nuclear program
01:54obliterated and buried and we watch it to this day. And then of course an ironclad blockade that Iran has
02:03never figured out how to get past the Abraham Lincoln and rightfully so. In fact, as I mentioned to the
02:09group upstairs, it was very nice of you to make a deal, the strike group, to make a deal with
02:14the
02:14Iranian Navy from the beginning of this mission. Your deal with them is that we will share the ocean.
02:22But the Iranian Navy gets the bottom of the ocean. You get the bottom half and the Lincoln gets the
02:27top.
02:27And you've done that from day one, destroying their Navy in historic proportions. A modern Navy destroyed
02:35faster than anyone imagined possible, creating all the options necessary for the historic success of
02:41the mission. And yet, as you all know, there were some in the media who wanted to mischaracterize your
02:50great success or characterize it as something else. And I would be the first to acknowledge I read the
02:55reports. I looked at everything, the challenges you faced, the long days, the high seas, the challenge
03:02in sustainment, maintenance, no port calls for 265 days. We know it. We didn't live it with you, but we
03:10understood the challenges you faced. And some in the media, some with us here today, wanted to define
03:17your mission by that or make it seem that that was all that people should take away. And yet, I
03:24had a chance
03:24to talk to many of you through the course of this deployment. And then here today, you're commanding
03:29officers and leadership. And it, of course, as you know, is the exact opposite. I see your face beaming
03:36with pride, and rightfully so. You're a part of history. You did something tough. You undertook
03:43something that took longer than you thought it would, was more difficult than you thought it would,
03:46was more challenging and more dangerous than you thought it might have been when you set out
03:50in November. And then when your name was called, when this strike group was mobilized, you ran to
03:57the sound of the guns on behalf of your nation to defend our country and our homeland. And you did
04:04it
04:04exceptionally without a single aircraft mishap. That almost sounds impossible. In fact, you talk
04:11to people that have seen this, it doesn't happen that way. No casualties considering the threat
04:16environment. It's absolutely astonishing. Only the United States Navy, only the US military could
04:22accomplish what you did. But it's not because of this beautiful, big, bold, strong aircraft carrier.
04:27It's because of the 5,000 men and women, the sailors and marines who operated it every single day with
04:34grit, with courage, with toughness, with spirit. You overcame obstacles. You showed resilience.
04:44When it was tough, you kept going. When there were challenges, you found your way around them.
04:48Because the mission was first. And you executed that mission in ways that most Americans will
04:55never understand. So on behalf of the President of the United States, I'm proud to be here to help
05:00greet you home. You'll be seeing your families tomorrow. Please pass my thanks, my gratitude from
05:06the President and myself to them. No sailor, no marine serves alone. Sometimes it's even more
05:12difficult on the other side when you don't know what's going on. You don't know when they'll get
05:16home and you don't know if things are okay. Pass my gratitude to them. Certainly they should be just
05:22as proud of what you've accomplished. But today, in recognition of your historic deployment,
05:30I'm very proud to announce that the President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the
05:40Presidential Unit Citation to the USS Abraham Carrier Strike Group, Carrier Strike Group 3.
05:48And I'm going to read the citation. For service set forth in the following.
05:55For extraordinary heroism against the enemy forces from 28 February 2026 through 22 August 2026,
06:04USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group planned and executed 40 days of combat operations
06:10and an ironclad maritime blockade against Iran in support of Operation Epic-Curie. The strike group
06:18projected decisive combat power and established maritime advantage to achieve the President's strategic
06:23objectives and strengthen the security of the United States. The strike group executed 3,693 combat
06:32sorties, delivered 1.37 million pounds of ordnance, launched 450 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles,
06:41shot down 77 one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles, sank 64 Iranian warships, destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise
06:51missiles and defended against four fast attacked craft and explosive carrying dows, almost all of those
06:59of which are proudly painted on the side of your tower. It's a beautiful thing to see. By their outstanding
07:05courage, aggressive fighting spirit and untiring devotion to duty, the officers, enlisted personnel and
07:13civilian employees of USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group reflected great credit upon themselves and
07:19upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Signed for the President by the Secretary of
07:27the Navy, Hong Kao. Sailors, Marines, that's well deserved. That's history. And I thank almighty God,
07:36truly, for producing such men, such women and such Americans for a moment such as this. Congratulations.
