5,000 Sailors And Marines Aboard Lincoln For Nearly Nine Months. Families Report Broken Toilets, Food Shortages, Water Contamination, Mouldy Showers And Sailor Overboard Attempts. USS George Washington En Route As Replacement
According to CNN and multiple outlets, US President Donald Trump on August 14, 2026 dismissed concerns about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln deployed in the Middle East for nearly nine months, saying the record-setting deployment was “not nearly long enough.”
Roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier have endured food shortages, water contamination, mouldy showers, long wartime shifts and broken toilets, according to relatives who have raised their concerns with members of Congress. Some families reported that the situation had deteriorated so badly that sailors attempted to jump overboard.
The Navy confirmed it is sending additional resiliency counselors and social workers to the Lincoln to augment existing mental health resources. The USS George Washington is being deployed as a replacement.
Trump, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews before boarding Air Force One, said: “No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth disputed media reports about conditions, saying they had been “completely misrepresented.”
Separately, Trump declared at a New York rally that the Strait of Hormuz would become “a territory of the United States.” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi responded on X that the strait “cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier” and would “remain Iranian.”
Nine months at sea in a war zone. The Commander-in-Chief says it wasn’t long enough. Check out our previous coverage of the US-Iran war on The Trusted Times.
