Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, told service members on the USS Abraham Lincoln on Wednesday that their deployment “wasn’t easy” as the carrier prepares to dock after spending over 260 consecutive days at sea without a port call, setting a navy record. For months, there have been widespread concerns since reports first emerged of supply shortages and deteriorating mental health onboard. In his remarks on Wednesday, however, Hegseth again sought to play down the issues.
Instead, he condemned “a few folks in the media” who he accused of trying to “turn” the Lincoln’s deployment “into some sort of symbol of dysfunction, or a symbol of low morale or a symbol of a failed mission”. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group “did what no other carrier strike group has ever done”, he declared on Wednesday. And it wasn’t easy, and there wasn’t easy resupply.” The US carrier, with roughly 5,000 sailors and marines onboard, left San Diego in November 2025, initially bound for the Pacific and expected to return in the spring.
But after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, the Lincoln was redirected to the Middle East, to support US operations in the region. Its deployment was extended, and the carrier spent over 250 consecutive days at sea without a port visit, setting a navy record, as the war disrupted regional resupply routes and traditional hubs. The deployment was described as “one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era” by Adm Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command.
As Donald Trump struggled to end the war with Iran, and the Lincoln’s deployment dragged on, reports emerged over the summer of shortages of food and basic supplies, and deteriorating mental health and morale among some crew members, including that two crew members had attempted to jump overboard. At the time, senior Trump administration officials dismissed the reports. Hegseth claimed they “completely misrepresented” the reality, while Trump, when asked in August whether the deployment had gone on too long, responded, “Not nearly long enough” – a remark that upset some naval families.
The reports about the conditions on the Lincoln caused concern among some military health experts, veterans and families of sailors onboard, and drew outrage from Democratic lawmakers, including several who demanded more information from the Pentagon. The Lincoln was relieved from its deployment later in August, as the USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived in the Middle East to take its place. But in recent weeks, as the Lincoln has headed back to San Diego, a new disclosure about the carrier has renewed scrutiny.
Acting navy secretary Hung Cao acknowledged last month that eight service members from the Lincoln and its strike group had attempted suicide during the deployment. He was responding to questions from Kirsten Gillibrand, the the Democratic senator. As Hegseth delivered his remarks on the Lincoln, Gillibrand criticized him, stating that “our service members deserve better than a photo-op.
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