By Sonya Dymova, Courtney Subramanian and Jen Judson
US President Donald Trump downplayed concerns over conditions for sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, amid an uproar from service members’ families as its deployment to West Asia approaches nine months.
Numerous relatives of the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier have voiced outrage at reports of food shortages, water contamination, moldy showers and long shifts in wartime aboard the vessel. Some family members have said the situation has deteriorated so badly that sailors have attempted to jump ship.
When asked about whether families are worried, Trump told reporters Friday, “No, they’re not.”
“That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump added. Asked whether the deployments had gone on too long, Trump said “not nearly long enough.”
The ship will return to the US “soon as part of a planned rotation,” acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said Friday.
In a statement posted on social media, Cao acknowledged disruptions during the deployment, including adjusting meal plans and limiting calls home, as well as a “small number of mental health cases.”
Typically, the Navy plans carrier deployments of roughly seven months. The Lincoln has been at sea for about nine, including more than 200 days without a port call and months of sustained combat operations in the war in Iran.
“There is no question our young men and women have been pushed to their limits—but they have never broken. They are rightly tired — but have never been out of the fight,” Cao said.
Democrats in Congress earlier this week demanded answers about the extended deployment and conditions for sailors. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Cao to ask what steps are being taken to improve conditions on the carrier.
Earlier this month in San Diego, military family members confronted the Navy secretary over the extended deployment, MSNOW reported, citing people who attended the meeting.
Defense officials have pushed back on reports about the issues on the Lincoln. Hegseth described reports about the USS Lincoln as “completely misrepresented,” in an interview with Newsmax on Thursday.
In a statement, a Navy official said the service had not observed an increase in mental health issues aboard the Lincoln, including sailors expressing thoughts about suicide. The official, who cited Pentagon rules and declined to be identified, said sailors had religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assist them as well as a service dog named Captain Fathom to help boost morale.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, during a Fox News appearance on Friday, insisted “this president cares about our United States military service members, our troops, more than everybody,” despite his earlier comments.
US Central Command on Thursday said on social media that there had been “several false claims” about the aircraft carrier and that “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.”
While acknowledging that one service member jumped overboard, the post said only that the sailor was “quickly and safely recovered.”
 "Trump dismisses concerns over USS Abraham Lincoln crew's long deployment")
