Senior Navy leaders met with the family members of sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln last week, telling officers their loved ones are struggling to cope with the taxing deployment.Last Thursday, acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, Naval Air Forces Commander Vice Adm. Douglas Verissimo, and Naval Surface Forces Commander Vice Adm. Joseph Cahill, met with families of sailors and Marines assigned to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to “hear their concerns directly, answer questions, and provide updates on the deployment,” a Navy official told the Washington Examiner.The 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the carrier, which deployed on Nov. 21, 2025, and was initially supposed to end in May, have been participating in U.S. military operations in the Middle East against Iran.
The ship has now been deployed for more than eight months with no publicly announced return date. Aside from stops in Guam in December 2025 and Oman in June, the ship has spent 208 continuous days at sea.At least two different sailors on the carrier have tried to jump overboard, according to Military Times. Separately, there was an incident in which individuals stopped a service member from jumping overboard, according to Stars and Stripes, which reported that one spouse told officials that she received a message from her husband saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.”Cahill told the families, “We hear you loud and clear the impact this has on families, on service members, and the long-term ability of us to stand, sustain our forces’ health,” according to MS Now.Cao has not directly commented publicly on his meeting with the families. On Wednesday, he said on social media, “Last week in San Diego, I spent time on the waterfront with the Fleet as they continue to train and prepare to deploy. From Surface and Aviation crews to our special operators, the focus is clear. It is the dedication of our people and their daily grind that drives our warfighting readiness—ensuring we are ready to execute any mission whenever our nation calls.”In April, photos of meals served aboard the Abraham Lincoln garnered criticism for their apparent quality, but War Secretary Pete Hegseth disputed those reports.WRIGHT CLAIMS PERSIAN GULF OIL EXPORTS BEAT PRE-WAR LEVELS, FAR ABOVE OUTSIDE ESTIMATES“We know that extended deployments place a significant strain on our service members and their families, and we are grateful for the resilience and sacrifices they make in support of our nation’s security,” the official added. “Navy leadership is listening to our families, supporting our service members, and ensuring the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has the resources needed to safely and successfully accomplish its mission.”In mid-May, the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group returned home following an 11-month deployment, a record-long deployment post-Vietnam, demonstrating the toll the current pace of Navy operations is taking across the service.
