The USS Abraham Lincoln crew got a long-awaited port visit in Thailand after a 286-day deployment that included a modern-era record 264 consecutive days at sea and months of combat operations in the Middle East, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg News Southeast Asia reporter Philip Heijmans, who recently returned from Thailand, said sailors described food shortages, limited communication with family and uncertainty about when they would return, while many also said they were proud of their mission.