Navy sends relief to beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln as sailor crisis deepens
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid reports of sailors aboard Abraham Lincoln being served substandard food and struggling with deteriorating mental health following extended deployment on the ship, a new report suggests that Washington is sending help to affected personnel.
Addressing the condition on the ship, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that he tries to provide sailors with everything they need and is grateful to those who are serving extended time on the aircraft carrier.
US Navy sending help after reports of sailors jumping overboard
The US Navy is sending relief to the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln amid reports of bleak conditions and sailors going overboard.
The USS George Washington has been sent to the Lincoln, which has been deployed in the Arabian Sea amid the ongoing war in Iran, CNN’s Pamela Brown reported Thursday, August 11, It remains unclear when the relief will arrive.
Brown confirmed that she herself was informed about the expected help.
“Now, I’m told by this official that this has been in the works for a while. They had always had a plan for the ship to have relief if it’s out at sea this long. So this is the plan and works,” Brown said.
As Brown revealed that help is on the way for affected sailors, she added that the timeline has not been confirmed to her.
“Now, this official wouldn’t give me a timeline of when the George Washington would arrive. And part of the reason why is operational security.”
Pamela Brown said sailors had been given several expected return dates, only for those deadlines to pass without them coming home.
“They were told they would be home by a certain date, and that deadline passed,” Brown reported, adding that officials now do not want to give sailors and their families “false hope.”
“At the same time, this uncertainty is really hard for the families,” she added.
Hegseth says the conditions on the ship are being misrepresented
According to several media reports, text messages a sailor aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln sent home have revealed details about the deteriorating conditions on board. The sailor said they were not getting fresh food because it would no longer be fresh by the time it reached the personnel.
“Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” the Defense secretary said, talking to Newsmax.
“Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas and those austere conditions with less port calls, it’s incredible.”
Hegseth added that he wants the service members “home as soon as everybody else” does.
“My commanders know that, our service secretaries know that, [President Trump] expects that,” he said
