Trump plays down concerns over sailors' record-long deployment on USS Abraham Lincoln
US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about sailors who have spent nearly nine months at sea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as lawmakers press the Pentagon for accountability over conditions onboard. Several sailors have attempted to jump overboard, with one succeeding in early August.
US President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed concerns about the wellbeing of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, who have endured a record-setting deployment of nearly nine months at sea. Speaking briefly to reporters before departing for New York, Trump said the deployment was "not nearly long enough" and claimed families of the sailors were not worried about the situation.
The president said the carrier would soon be replaced by a similar ship. The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week and is expected to take over from the Lincoln, one of two aircraft carriers currently deployed in the Middle East.
Concerns over conditions onboard
The Lincoln has been supporting the US war effort against Iran, and several Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Pentagon for accountability over conditions aboard the ship. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that reports on the conditions had been "completely misrepresented".
Specialist military publications Navy Times and Stars and Stripes have reported multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard amid mounting mental health strain during the nine-month deployment. One attempt in early August succeeded, with the sailor rescued by a search-and-rescue helicopter and treated aboard before being transferred for further care.
Worried family members raised concerns at an emotional town hall with navy leaders in San Diego last week, attended by around 200 relatives. One spouse said her husband had texted that he hoped he wouldn't wake up the next day.
The navy said it has not observed an increase in suicidal ideation or attempts aboard the ship, but declined to release data, citing operational security and patient privacy. Officials attributed difficult conditions to supply disruptions in the conflict-affected region, saying priority had been given to food, hygiene items and mail.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao defended the crew's resilience in a statement, while acknowledging that a small number of mental health cases had been treated without loss of life.
