USS Abraham Lincoln crew faces exhaustion and shortages

Families of sailors and Marines aboard the carrier report punishing shifts, low morale, food shortages and deteriorating living conditions during the deployment off Iran

The USS Abraham Lincoln crew is facing mounting exhaustion, declining morale and shortages of basic supplies, according to family members of some of the more than 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier deployed off Iran as part of the war launched by President Donald Trump.

According to testimony collected by Ms. Now, some service members are reportedly receiving meals consisting of little more than half a bowl of rice and two tortillas. At the ship’s store, meanwhile, supplies of soap, deodorant and toothpaste have reportedly run out.

Families have also described deteriorating living conditions aboard the carrier, including broken toilets, moldy showers without hot water and periods lasting weeks without laundry service.

“The morale is not good,” Bonnie York, whose stepson serves aboard the Lincoln, told Ms. Now. According to York, the ship’s doctor or therapist has reportedly said the carrier needs to make a port call soon or “people will start to lose their minds.”

The Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in January after leaving San Diego in November. According to Tim Hontz, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the carrier has now exceeded 250 days of deployment.

Hontz acknowledged that the circumstances represent a difficult situation for the crew, while emphasizing that the Lincoln “remains fully capable of carrying out all assigned missions.”

The concerns have also drawn attention from Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs, who said she was “deeply concerned” about the fatigue and mental health of personnel aboard the carrier.

Criticism is coming not only from families who oppose Trump’s policies. Some relatives of service members who voted for Trump in the last election are also questioning the deployment.

“He has dragged us into a war we should not be in,” Nicole Conrad, the mother of a sailor, said, calling on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to see the conditions aboard the carrier for himself.

York said she supported Trump because he had promised that he would not enter a war. She now believes the armed forces have been pushed “to the limit.”

The complaints also revive earlier controversy over conditions aboard U.S. Navy vessels. In April, Hegseth dismissed reports of food shortages aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Tripoli as “fake news.”

For the families now raising concerns about the Lincoln, however, the issue extends beyond food supplies to the broader physical and psychological strain of a deployment that has already exceeded 250 days.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)