Major New Update Emerges in the Troubled USS Abraham Lincoln Deployment After Outcry

Update: Friday, Aug. 21, 12:52 p.m.

After an extended nine-month deployment marked by reports of poor living conditions, sailors attempting to jump overboard, and public outcry from the NAACP, the USS Abraham Lincoln is finally heading home. According to HuffPost, the aircraft carrier—carrying roughly 5,000 sailors and deployed largely in support of U.S. operations against Iran—is departing the Middle East for the United States. A U.S. official told NBC News on Thursday that the ship is expected to return to San Diego in a few weeks, with the USS George Washington set to take its place, per the New York Times.

Original story: Aug. 18, 11:59 a.m.

When thousands of sailors were deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in November 2025, they didn’t expect their deployment to be extended twice, resulting in roughly 265 days at sea, a stretch that could mark one of the longest continuous deployments for a U.S. aircraft carrier. Now, the NAACP is demanding immediate action to protect those enduring rapidly deteriorating living conditions and declining morale.

“Black Sailors, other Sailors of color, women, and members of historically marginalized communities are among the nearly 5,000 Sailors and Marines serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln,” the NAACP said in a statement, noting how the servicemen are subject to moldy showers, broken toilets and laundry facilities.

A sailor onboard the Lincoln told CNN’s Pamela Brown: “We’ve had black mold around the ship for awhile. It’s crazy to think that you can be just standing in line waiting for chow or even walking out of the shower and the ceiling drips mold onto your face, shoulders, arms, or head.”

Making matters worse, nearly half the crew is in their mid-20s or younger—many on their first or second deployment. Sailors describe low morale, repetitive work and grueling 12-to-16-hour workdays with almost no time off.

They are reportedly lacking basic hygiene products, disrupted mail service and inadequate meals, according to The Hill, in addition to extended periods without hot water. The reported conditions are so dismal, it’s beginning to affect the sailors’ mental health.

An official said one sailor had gone overboard wearing a vest, adding that the Navy considered the incident to have been a mental health episode, CNN initially reported last week. Multiple sailors also have attempted to jump off the aircraft carrier, per CNN.

The Lincoln was docked in the Middle East for more than 260 days—longer than it was expected to be stationed there. Military officials repeatedly pushed back the ship’s return date due to escalating conflict with Iran, stretching supply chains thin and forcing thousands of sailors into an excruciatingly long deployment without land access, the Associated Press reported.

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While the NAACP is calling for help for the trapped sailors, President Trump called the concerns “fake news reporting from CNN.” On Monday, Trump was questioned in the Oval Office by a CNN reporter on why he prioritizes the interests of adversaries in North Korea. He called her “very disrespectful” and repeatedly told her to be quiet.

Trump brushed off criticism of the long deployment, saying a retired general told him the vessel is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.” He went on to suggest the tour has been “not nearly long enough.”

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the conditions aboard have been “completely misrepresented,” according to Reuters. But sailors onboard tell a different story.

“The main reason this deployment is so worse is because we were not supposed to come out here and fight a war… At first, when we learned that we would be doing combat operations, it was intended to be a two-week thing. But unfortunately, that became a seven-month thing… They told us it was to help Iranian protesters, then they told us we are out here to denuclearize Iran, now it’s to support a blockade. The purpose of even doing this is inconsistent,” a sailor told CNN.

The sailor said their deployment “is a big let down with consistent extensions that affects our loved ones who have their lives on hold until we return. The lack of information is leaving us with nothing to tell our families. Which makes it all one big inconvenience.”