The crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln, now in its ninth month at sea, faces shortages of food and basic supplies, along with declining morale. A congresswoman urges Trump to end the war and bring the troops home.
Families of sailors and Marines aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln are raising the alarm, describing conditions on the ship as alarming. After nine months at sea and five consecutive months of combat operations against Iran, the crew of about 5,000 people is facing shortages of basic necessities such as soap, toothpaste, and deodorant, as well as meager meals and declining morale.
MS NOW spoke with a dozen family members, three of whom agreed to speak publicly, while others remained anonymous for fear of retaliation against their loved ones. Their testimonies paint a picture of a crew exhausted by an unexpectedly long deployment, as President Donald Trump continues a military campaign with no clear end in sight.
The ship departed its home port of San Diego in November 2025. After a brief stop in Guam in December, it spent 208 consecutive days at sea before briefly entering Oman on July 7, setting a modern record for a U.S. Navy carrier. The typical deployment lasts seven months, but the Lincoln's mission has already been extended twice.
Brett Snow, a U.S. Navy veteran whose son serves on the ship, described the dangers of exhaustion. "It's already the most dangerous place in the world, and now you're grinding day after day without a break. It's an environment ripe for accidents," Snow told MS NOW. His son also described holes that had broken through the carrier's flight deck, which the Fifth Fleet spokesperson, Commander Joseph Hontz, firmly denies, asserting that the crew is repairing expected wear and tear and that the ship is fully capable of all missions.
Families also reported malfunctioning toilets, moldy showers, broken laundry facilities that were out of service for weeks, and long periods without hot water for showers. "You can push these people, but make sure they have what they need. They can't do it themselves. They're trapped. You've essentially stranded them there and said, 'Well, deal with it,'" said Bonnie York, a family member whose stepson is on the ship.
One mother, Nicole Conrad, whose son is on the ship and whose face she hasn't seen in seven months, described the food shortages. "He told me his meal consisted of half a cup of rice and two tortillas," she recounted. Families report that lines for the ship's store have been known to last an hour, and shelves are often empty when it comes to basic hygiene items. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously dismissed reports of poor conditions on the ship as "fake news," but families now insist those reports were accurate and continue to worry about their loved ones' nutrition.
Hontz acknowledged that there have been occasional, short-lived shortages of certain supplies but insisted that all ships in the area currently have enough food and equipment. "On a floating city with thousands of sailors and Marines, lines for meals and certain services occasionally form," he said, adding that leadership is adjusting schedules to reduce wait times. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a particular challenge because they spoil before delivery.
Bonnie York, whose stepson is on his first deployment, described alarming morale. "Morale is not good. Apparently, the ship's doctor or therapist said they need to get to port soon or people will start, you know, losing their minds," she relayed. York, who lives in Idaho and voted for Trump because he promised not to start new wars, is now disillusioned. "I really hope this war was worth it. Because I don't feel it was... We're sacrificing for something none of us want to be a part of," she said.
Her concerns are echoed by Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, a member of the House Armed Services Committee from California, who represents the ship's home port. "I am deeply concerned about their exhaustion and mental health, because history has shown that this can lead to serious consequences, including an increased risk of suicide," Jacobs said. "President Trump must end the war against Iran now and bring our service members home."
At one point, Operation Epic Fury, which deployed about 50,000 troops, involved three aircraft carriers in the region, something not seen since 2003. In April, the USS George H.W. Bush arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, after which the three carriers briefly overlapped in the Middle East. The USS Gerald Ford, which participated in operations to arrest former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and then in the initial strikes on Iran, set a historic record with 326 days of deployment, the longest since the Vietnam War.
Snow, the Navy veteran, warns of long-term consequences. "If this trend continues, it will affect retention and operational safety," he said. "I don't know if we'll ever be able to achieve anything reasonable-anything that could come close to what Americans consider victory."
