Navy to swap USS Abraham Lincoln for George Washington in the Middle East

The U.S. military reportedly plans to send another aircraft carrier to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for nearly nine months. Several media outlets have reported that family members of the ship’s crew are worried about their loved ones’ morale and mental health.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the George Washington, which has been operating in the South China Sea, would replace the Lincoln as part of a scheduled deployment to the Middle East. Task & Purpose has independently confirmed the newspaper’s reporting is accurate.

No information was immediately available on when the George Washington might arrive in the region to replace the Lincoln.

Since leaving San Diego in November, the Lincoln has spent most of its deployment in the Middle East supporting U.S. military operations against Iran. The carrier has not had a port call since December.

Several family members of crew members told MS NOW that the Lincoln’s long deployment combined with food shortages and other quality of life issues aboard the ship have undermined morale.

Families of Lincoln’s crew members also recently told Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao that they are worried that the mental toll on their loved ones has increased the risk that they could try to harm themselves. Both Military Times and Stars and Stripes have reported on incidents in which the ship’s sailors have tried to jump overboard during the current deployment.

Concerns about the crew’s mental health come after USA Today reported in April about issues with the quality and quantity of food aboard the Lincoln and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, which was also deployed to the Middle East at the time. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle denied the reporting.   

Defense officials have similarly disputed more recent media reports about deteriorating morale and mental health among the sailors and Marines assigned to the Lincoln.

Navy officials told Task & Purpose that they have “not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts” aboard the Lincoln. U.S. Central Command also wrote in a Thursday social media post that the ship has “maintained among the highest crew reenlistment rates (84.4%) of all aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy.”

“No service members aboard the aircraft carrier have died, and the one Sailor who fell overboard Aug. 3 was quickly and safely recovered,” the command wrote in the post.

The spouse of one of the ship’s crew members spoke to We Are the Mighty about the operational tempo’s impact on the crew, saying “They just need a break,” adding “There has been no — or very little — release valve for this pressure that has built up over the course of their deployment.”

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