Coronado-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is finally returning home after it set a record-long deployment to the Middle East.
Asia-based USS George Washington was sent to relieve the carrier after almost nine months of being out at sea.
The Lincoln departed Naval Air Station North Island at the end of November with no public attention, but was quickly directed to assist in the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, most notably being used to block the Strait of Hormuz in recent months. In February, the U.S. military acknowledged that a Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone as it “aggressively approached” the giant ship.
The record-setting deployment raised concerns among family members as the Lincoln continued for months with no confirmed return date.
Reports of mental health crises due to its extended deployment, food shortages and exhaustion came to light during a town hall meeting on Aug. 6 at Naval Air Station North Island, according to MS Now, where several family members pleaded for answers from Navy leaders after hearing about conditions on board the carrier.
The Navy Times revealed multiple instances where sailors attempted to jump overboard, and USA Today reported meals on the Lincoln being less than satisfactory, leaving those onboard hungry.
At least one sailor aboard the Lincoln reported mental health issues earlier this month, then had to be rescued after jumping overboard. In the aftermath, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao on Aug. 12 demanding information on what was being done to improve conditions for sailors.
“There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care packages in route to the ship to be lost in transit for months,” the letter said.
Blumenthal also questioned the “Navy’s ability to sustainably generate carrier forces while preserving servicemember well-being.”
Cao said in a statement posted to X that the media is being “dishonest” and “trying to paint our warriors as victims.
“Not only is that dishonest but it takes away the focus on the enemy and the threat it poses against our nation, people, and way of life,” he added.
The acting secretary acknowledged there were a small number of mental health cases, but said no loss of life had occurred. He also said meal plans were adjusted when fresh resupply was unavailable, explaining that deployments are hard and that sailors and Marines are expected to dig deep, and that they have.
A statement from Central Command on X pushed back on concerns about the lengthy deployment, calling them false and claiming that “rampant misreporting” has been a “disservice to our men and women in uniform and their loved ones.”
Hegseth said every Navy ship and crew has “everything we can provide them at every single moment,” according to a video from Newsmax.
