Overview
- The carrier left San Diego in late November and spent roughly 240–266 days at sea supporting operations in the Iran war before the Navy said it will be rotated home and replaced by the USS George Washington.
- Family members and sailors have reported degraded habitability including food rationing, broken showers and toilets, limited fresh resupply, and multiple mental‑health crises with at least one sailor rescued after going overboard.
- Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao acknowledged a small number of mental‑health cases and said the ship will return soon, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House officials have publicly disputed broader media accounts.
- CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper visited the Lincoln on Saturday, the Navy has sent additional resiliency counselors and social workers to augment care, and leaders say operational mission needs drove the extended deployment.
- Lawmakers and retired officers are demanding briefings and possible oversight, warning the episode could harm morale and retention and exposing wider sustainment pressures for long wartime carrier operations.