The USS Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier that has been on deployment in the Middle East for nearly 300 days, has departed and is making its way back home.
A U.S. official confirmed the ship’s departure with The New York Times on Thursday. Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command, said Sunday in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal that he visited the ship over the weekend amid reports of issues and low morale among sailors. He said he thanked the sailors and told them he was sending them home.
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President Donald Trump deployed the Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East to assist with military operations against Iran. However, reports began emerging recently about the poor conditions sailors faced after Iran reportedly destroyed a naval base in Bahrain, The Times reported.
The Navy is sending the USS George Washington, based in Japan, to replace the Abraham Lincoln.
The Abraham Lincoln’s extended deployment
The Abraham Lincoln departed a San Diego, California, port on Nov. 21 and spent nearly all of its 272-day deployment at sea. The ship made a brief stop in Guam in December and another in Oman to replenish supplies.
The thousands of sailors aboard the ship have not had any days off, according to The Times, and the 13,000-mile trip back home could take the crew up to five weeks.
Cooper said the issues regarding food and hot water on the ship were reported months ago and have since been resolved by the vessel’s leadership. Reports first emerged in April after family members of those aboard raised concerns, according to Time.
When reports of low morale and mental health concerns among sailors surfaced, Cooper pushed back, saying the crew has “among the lowest number of cases” involving mental health issues among the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers.
Still, Cooper acknowledged the mental strain sailors may feel after months at sea.
“This doesn’t mean that all is perfect,” Cooper said in a statement. “Find any of the nearly 4 million Navy veterans in America today and they will likely tell you that service at sea for long periods isn’t for everyone.”
Lawmakers push for investigation
Despite Cooper’s reassurances, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a former Marine, said Sunday that he’s spoken to a spouse of a sailor on the ship who told him the problems are still occurring.
“I was just speaking to a spouse just about three days ago and this is the current problems right now,” Gallego told ABC’s “This Week.”
Gallego connected the issues on the Abraham Lincoln to what he called the Trump administration’s failure to properly plan for the war in Iran, saying the administration “did not really understand how this war was going to escalate.”
Democrats, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have called for an investigation into the conditions, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the reports “completely misrepresented.”
In an interview on Newsmax earlier this month, Hegseth said “some deployments are longer than others” and insisted the Pentagon ensures every ship and crew has what they need for deployment.
“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth said. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.”
Navy officials echoed Hegseth. In a statement to ABC News, they said the Abraham Lincoln hadn’t seen a rise in mental issues and leadership has “not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.” It did, however, acknowledge the strain of extended deployment.
“We know that extended deployments place a significant strain on our service members and their families, and we are grateful for the resilience and sacrifices they make in support of our nation’s security,” the statement said.