USS Abraham Lincoln is set to rotate out of the Strait of Hormuz following major concerns about the crew’s deteriorating morale and mental health after the vessel’s record-setting deployment at sea.
As the US continues to wage its war against Iran, the aircraft carrier is one of the country’s premier weapons called to sail in the Middle East.
Lincoln is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, currently serving as the flagship of the US Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 3.
More than 5,000 personnel serve on the carrier, consisting of about 3,200 sailors and 2,400 airmen who crew the jet fighters housed on the vessel.
The carrier serves as the landing platform for several top US fighter jets, namely F-35 Lightning IIs, F/A-18 Super Hornets, and helicopters, totaling 90 aircraft.
It is capable of completing various missions, from strike operations to humanitarian aid and reconnaissance.
Low morale among carrier crews
However, US media reported that several family members of crews have come forward to authorities to raise concern over the deteriorating situation inside the carrier.
The crews have faced low supplies, including contaminated food and water, causing several personnel to experience low morale during its 326-day deployment.
The carrier’s more than six months of operations at sea are set to break the record for the longest deployment completed by a US ship away from American soil since the Vietnam War.
These reports prompted Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), a Senate Armed Services Committee member, to raise “serious concerns” last Wednesday, about the deployment length of the carrier at sea to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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Navy denies allegations
In a social media post dated August 15, Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao criticised the media reports, stating that there was a “dishonest” portrayal of the American sailors’ health situation.
He also praised the carrier and its crews, confirming that USS Lincoln will soon rotate out of deployment.
“Details will come but let me be clear: the safety and security of our Sailors and Marines always comes first,” the statement reads.
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Ian Trinidad 
Eugene Nicklaus S. Laqui 
Newsjustnews writers