USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 returns to its homeport of Washington, last Sunday October 12. The seven-month deployment was a success, supporting Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and maritime security and coalition operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR). While supporting OEF and OIF from the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea, Lincoln and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 flew approximately 7,100 sorties — including 2,307 combat sorties, providing more than 22,000 flight hours — and dropped 255,963 pounds of ordnance.

“We traveled over 60,000 miles, 2.3 times around the world. We flew over 7,000 sorties — 26,000 hours total — and supported Sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines on the ground in both Afghanistan and Iraq”, said USS Abraham Lincoln’s CVN 72 Commanding Officer Capt. Patrick Hall.

“With all the miles traveled and missions flown, Lincoln’s crew always had safety in mind. The good thing is that all the Sailors who left on deployment with us are coming back off deployment”, he added.

Lincoln CVN 72 also re-enlisted more than 180 Sailors, collectively equaling more than 700 years of new service to the Navy. Other individual achievements include 749 Sailors completing 20 different college classes.

Along with five months of combat operations, Lincoln hosted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and dignitaries and military officials from Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, France, Bahrain and Pakistan. Lincoln’s embarked distinguished visitors totaled more than 230 from 20 different countries.

During deployment, Lincoln conducted two burials at sea for 40 veterans and family members.

After successfully completing operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR where Sailors enjoyed port visits in the Persian Gulf region, Lincoln sailed to the U.S. 7th Fleet AOR and participated in 16 community relations projects with 400 volunteers, contributing more than 2,000 hours to communities in Singapore and Thailand.

With the deployment completed, Lincoln and its crew will enjoy some time off before heading out to sea again for an upcoming sustainment period.

Hall said the returning Sailors have earned some well-deserved time off from the 214 days at sea.

“It’s tremendous coming home to all the friends and families, they’re all so excited and looking forward to going home and relaxing” he said.

Members of the 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan have surpassed 10,000 combat hours in the EC-130H Compass Call, while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in September.

The squadron’s 10,000 hours were accumulated over a period of four years, beginning with their first Operation Enduring Freedom deployment in March 2004 from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.

“Our primary mission is to support the ground troops at the (forward operating bases) with communications jamming,” said operations officer Maj. James Bands. “For this aircraft it is extremely difficult (to reach such a milestone). There are only 14 of these aircraft in the Air Force. So it’s taken four years of constant flying at about 2-3,000 hours on one aircraft a year, in order to accomplish this.”

Many of the Airmen with the 41st EECS have deployed multiple times, as there are only two operational EC-130H squadrons in the Air Force.

Capt. Jared Howard is on his fourth Operation Enduring Freedom deployment and has more than 900 combat hours under his belt. “It’s all pretty much the same mission. The sorties seem to be getting longer and longer. When we first started off, we were just doing one thing, because everybody didn’t know all our capabilities. So now we’ve told people about our abilities, and they are employing us much more.”

While a typical fighter squadron will deploy with about a dozen aircraft, the 41st EECS deploys with only one or two EC-130s. The 41st Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit Airmen makes sure that those aircraft are mission ready every day.

“The 10,000 flying hours are probably represented by 80,000 maintenance hours,” said Master Sgt. Carla West, the production superintendent.

“Having one or two airplanes can be easier because there is less work to do, but it also doesn’t allow for much maintenance down-time,” said Staff Sgt. Alex Rosales. “If it breaks we have to fix it. We don’t have another plane to fly. It’s a little more stressful.”

The 41st EECS staff boasts a mission capable rate exceeding many other airframes in US Air Forces Central Command.

Senior Master Sgt. Mike Zielinski, the maintenance superintendent, credits this accomplishment to teamwork. “Without everybody pitching in as a team, this mission would not happen. I’ve been here since June and every week something surprises me. We continue to hit new plateaus. When I think we are not going to be able to fly, we manage to come up with something and are able to fly.”

A Soyuz spacecraft lifted off from Kazakhstan with two Americans and a Russian on board on Sunday for the International Space Station. The Soyuz TMA-13 capsule carrying American computer game millionaire Richard Garriott soared into a clear sky atop Russian rocket as the latest paying space traveler’s family watched from a viewing platform. Together with Garriott were US astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov.

The rocket lifted off on schedule 1:01 p.m. sending an orange flare behind it as it streaked upward. The craft entered orbit around 10 minutes later.

Richard Garriott’s father, Owen, a former US astronaut witnessed his child follow his footsteps and reach space. Garriott’s mother Eve and his girlfriend, Kelly Miller shed tears of joy and relief at the successful launch.

The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of two detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One detainee was transferred to Algeria and one detainee was transfered to Sudan. These detainees were determined to be eligible for transfer following a comprehensive series of review processes.

The transfer is a demonstration of the United States’ desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary. It also underscores the processes put in place to assess each individual and make a determination about their detention while hostilities are ongoing — an unprecedented step in the history of warfare.

The Department of Defense has determined — through its comprehensive review processes — that more than 60 detainees at Guantanamo are eligible for transfer or release. Departure of these detainees is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations.

Since 2002, approximately 520 detainees have departed Guantanamo for other countries including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France, Great Britain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Yemen.

There are approximately 255 detainees currently at Guantanamo.