The USS Abraham Lincoln is in the midst of a record-setting deployment, kept out of port for more than six months as the carrier’s crew faces morale and mental health concerns. The ship may break a record for the longest trip away from its home port for a US carrier since the Vietnam War.
That record was set just months ago by the USS Gerald R. Ford after that ship completed a 326-day deployment that included operations against Iran and Venezuela.
It’s part of a pattern, with the US Navy increasingly asking its aircraft carrier groups to exceed the service’s recommended deployment duration of seven months, according to a CNN analysis of deployment announcements and the USNI News fleet tracker.
Experts and former officials have warned that the trend could place more stress on the ships and lead to burnout among sailors or even push some to leave the Navy altogether.
A crew member serving on the Lincoln described morale on the ship as very low and said they had heard repeatedly about suicidal ideation by fellow crew members. And there were regular strains on essential amenities — toilets and water fountains around the ship frequently closed and hot water often unavailable, the crew member said.
