New Aircraft Carrier Heads for Mideast 08/14 06:49

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington 
has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental 
health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.

   The Lincoln has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its 
deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 
260 days. Several Democratic lawmakers are pressing for accountability from the 
Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier, which Defense Secretary Pete 
Hegseth on Thursday said were "completely misrepresented."

   Extended deployments of carriers during the Iran conflict have raised 
concerns about the impact on service members who are away from home for long 
periods as well as the increasing strain on the ship and its equipment. While 
renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran have calmed in recent weeks, the 
Navy has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, 
and the Trump administration has offered no clarity on how it intends to wind 
down the war.

   Hegseth told reporters that the U.S. can maintain the blockade 
"indefinitely."

   A new aircraft carrier is heading west from the Asia-Pacific

   The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, a Navy 
statement said. The carrier, along with a cruiser and a destroyer, have since 
been spotted crossing the Singapore Strait.

   A Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive 
ship details, confirmed that the Washington was in the Strait of Malacca, which 
links the Pacific and Indian oceans and puts the carrier on a course to head 
into the Indian Ocean. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the 
Washington would replace the Lincoln as one of the two aircraft carriers now 
stationed in the Middle East.

   The move would leave the waters of the Pacific without a U.S. carrier 
presence for an unknown period of time. The Trump administration sees China, 
the dominant power in the region, as "a settled force" that only needs to be 
deterred from dominating the U.S. or its allies and not the top global 
adversary that it was under the Biden administration.

   The Lincoln originally deployed Nov. 21 from San Diego, and it arrived in 
the Middle East in January, ahead of the launch of the Iran war on Feb. 28. The 
Navy conceded that the conflict created a "highly contested environment where 
traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions." 
That, in turn, led to shortages and loss of mail aboard the aircraft carrier, 
the Navy said in a statement.

   "Leadership prioritized mission-critical supplies: first food, then hygiene 
items, then mail," the statement said, before assuring that sailors aboard the 
ship now have access to clean water and "healthy meal options."

   Democrats call for scrutiny, while the Pentagon defends conditions aboard 
the USS Abraham Lincoln

   Democratic lawmakers are calling for investigations, more information and 
greater visibility into conditions aboard the ship, which was originally set to 
return home in May.

   "The Lincoln's prolonged deployment is especially significant because it is 
occurring in the context of continuing military operations against Iran and the 
possibility that substantial US naval forces will be required in the region for 
an extended period," Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the 
Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter to Navy leadership asking 
for a response to several questions.

   Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Marine Corps veteran, said on social media 
that he is looking to take a bipartisan delegation on an official oversight 
visit to the ship and that the way sailors are being treated is "not just 
disgusting; it's dangerous."

   Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama that he wants the 
Lincoln's sailors home and crews rotated as quickly as possible but pushed back 
against reports of problems aboard.

   "We make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we 
can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than 
others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than 
anybody. What they do in those high seas in those austere conditions with 
less port calls -- it's incredible."

   Navy leaders, including acting Secretary Hung Cao, last week held a tense 
town hall for families of troops aboard the USS Lincoln, at which the 
commanders of the Navy's air and surface forces promised to do everything they 
could to relieve the aircraft carrier. MS NOW reported earlier on the meeting.

   When reports of food shortages aboard the ship first surfaced in April, the 
Navy pushed back, calling those reports "false."

   Reports of mental health concerns and more aboard the ship

   Reports have since emerged that sailors on the Lincoln are struggling with 
mental health concerns. The Navy said in its statement that it has "not 
observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship," but 
officials declined to provide data, citing operational security and patient 
privacy concerns.

   The Navy official said that a sailor aboard the Lincoln went overboard in 
early August but that the person was quickly recovered, treated by the ship's 
medical department and transferred off ship for follow-on care. The official 
would not say if it was being considered a suicide attempt.

   U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, 
pushed back on reports about poor conditions.

   "The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain 
resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraft 
flights, and 1.5 million pounds of ordnance expended," the command said on 
social media.

   Other carriers also have had long runs that have raised concerns about 
morale. The USS Gerald R. Ford returned home in mid-May after an 11-month 
deployment, the longest since the Vietnam War, during which it supported the 
U.S. war with Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro.

   During its deployment, the Ford experienced a fire in a laundry space that 
forced the carrier to turn around and return to the Mediterranean Sea for 
repairs and left hundreds of sailors without places to sleep.

   Concerns about the demands of battle and the dangers of overextending ships 
and their crew predate the Iran war, with a number of mishaps on ships battling 
Houthi rebels in Yemen in 2024 and 2025, including the aircraft carrier USS 
Harry S. Truman on a longer-than-expected deployment.