The USS Abraham Lincoln conducts a “Replenishment at Sea” near the Middle East in May 2026. The Lincoln has now been at sea for nine months, and a spate of recent shipboard incidents suggests that crew morale is flagging. (US Navy)

There Is Serious Trouble on the USS Abraham Lincoln

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The USS Abraham Lincoln has been at sea for nine months amid deteriorating conditions—and some sailors have had enough.

Life on a United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is probably never easy. But for the sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), it may be akin to a floating hell. As of Thursday, the Nimitz-class supercarrier has been deployed for 265 days, having departed from Naval Base San Diego with little fanfare on November 21, 2025.

That may be significantly fewer days at this point than the record-setting 326 days that the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) spent deployed, but CVN-72 has only made two very brief port calls, including one to Guam in December and another to Oman last month. Neither visit likely gave the crew much time ashore.

The recent port call was likely only to receive supplies, as the crew had complained of poor conditions and supply shortages.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has downplayed the reports of poor living conditions aboard the Lincoln. The secretary used a common deflection of the Trump administration, describing the reports as “fake news” when they first surfaced in April.

Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA), whose congressional district includes the Lincoln’s home port, Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, raised alarm at conditions aboard the vessel this week, including moldy showers, broken toilets and laundry facilities, no hot water, substandard meals, and lack of access to basic necessities like soap and deodorant.

“These........

© The National Interest