Democrats denounce the poor conditions suffered by sailors on the aircraft carrier ‘Abraham Lincoln’ deployed in the Gulf

Several Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern over the prolonged deployment of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln following reports of poor living conditions for the crew after nearly nine months at sea near the Persian Gulf. In a letter addressed to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal expressed concern about several issues, including shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, and the deterioration of the military personnel’s mental health. The aircraft carrier was sent to the Middle East to support U.S. operations in the war against Iran.

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There are reports that several crew members have attempted suicide by jumping overboard, according to media outlets Stars and Stripes and Navy Times, which cited interviews with sailors and crew members’ families.

Three U.S. officials also told CNN that a sailor went overboard earlier this month. The sailor was rescued in less than an hour and, wearing a life jacket, was unharmed. According to sources cited by the U.S. media, the Navy considers the incident to be related to mental health.

The aircraft carrier’s mission, with around 5,000 military personnel deployed, began in November 2025. It arrived in the Middle East in January and was scheduled to last until May. However, 265 days after departing San Diego, California, the ship remains at sea. During this period, the vessel has made only two stops: the first, in December, in Guam, a Micronesian island belonging to the United States, and the second in July, in Oman, in the Persian Gulf.

“There have been numerous reports of shortages of basic supplies,” Blumenthal wrote to Hegseth and the Secretary of the Navy. The senator also cited plumbing problems, mental health deterioration, “concerns related to deck safety and mail system failures, which have caused many packages sent to the ship to be lost in transit for months,” he stated in the letter.

Other Democratic lawmakers have also expressed concern about the conditions of the military personnel on the aircraft carrier and are demanding a response from the Pentagon.

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Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, said on Wednesday in a social media post that he had requested an overnight visit to the Lincoln for a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers. “Unlike Donald Trump, I have served in the military,” said Gallego, who served in combat as a Marine. “The way he is treating our military while waging this illegal war is not only disgusting but also dangerous,” the senator added.

“The news coming from the Abraham Lincoln about several sailors who have attempted to jump overboard is disturbing,” wrote Mark Kelly, another Democratic senator from Arizona, on Thursday. “Prolonged deployments are tough. And they are much tougher when the mission is not well defined and there is no end in sight.”

The U.S. government is reportedly preparing to send the aircraft carrier George Washington, which completed a stopover in Vietnam on August 5, to the Middle East to relieve the Abraham Lincoln, as part of a pre-planned rotation schedule, according to official sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, during a visit to Panama, that reports about poor conditions aboard the carrier deployed in the Gulf are “completely misrepresented.” Hegseth added that “some deployments last longer than others” and that he felt “enormous respect and gratitude” for the sailors. “What they do at sea, in such austere conditions and with fewer port stops, is truly incredible,” the secretary concluded.

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