Families of USS Abraham Lincoln sailors say the ship is in its ninth month at sea, and the crew has had only two days off since leaving San Diego in November. Bonnie York said the morale is not good and that the ship’s doctor or therapist told the crew they need to hit port soon.
The Lincoln’s 5,000-plus sailors and Marines have been away for 208 continuous days, with the ship making only a short stop in Guam in December and a brief pull into Oman on July 7. Families say that stretch has brought moldy showers, food shortages, and crew members running out of toothpaste, deodorant, and soap.
Bonnie York on the Lincoln
York, whose stepson is on the Lincoln, said, “The morale is not good. Apparently, the ship’s doctor or therapist said they need to hit port soon or people are going to start, you know, losing their minds.” Her account adds to what a dozen family members told MS NOW about conditions aboard the ship.
Those families said limited rest and shortages are wearing on sailors and Marines during what was supposed to be a seven-month deployment. The ship’s time at sea has now stretched into a fifth consecutive month of combat operations against Iran, with families saying the length of the deployment is feeding exhaustion aboard the carrier.
Brett Snow and flight deck wear
Brett Snow, a Navy veteran and father of a sailor on the Lincoln, said his son described seeing holes that had worn through the ship’s flight deck. Snow said, “It’s the most dangerous place in the world already, and now you’re grinding it out, day in and day out, with no breaks.” He also said, “It’s an environment that’s ripe for accidents.”
Joseph Hontz, a spokesperson for the Navy’s 5th Fleet, said there are no holes in the flight deck and that the crew has been able to repair the expected wear and tear when needed. He said the deck has endured more than 10,000 aircraft sorties over the past eight months, which gives a sense of how heavily the ship has been used while it has remained at sea.
USS Abraham Lincoln deployment
The reported conditions and the dispute over the flight deck leave the same operational problem in place: a carrier built for long deployments is now being asked to keep going after the routine schedule has already slipped twice. Families say they expect the ship to reach port soon, and their accounts show the pressure is no longer only about distance from home but about how long the crew can keep working under the current pace.
