According to foreign media reports including the BBC on the 16th local time, US Central Command chief General Brad Cooper boarded the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East on the 15th for an inspection, calling the mental well-being of the crew a “top priority.” Just last week, the carrier made headlines for all the wrong reasons — multiple sources said the roughly 5,000 sailors onboard are battling low morale, compounded by supply shortages and terrible living conditions, with several suffering mental breakdowns and even attempting to throw themselves into the sea.
US Central Command chief General Brad Cooper addresses crew members aboard the USS Lincoln
In a statement following his visit, Cooper said, “I’ve always believed that mental health is a vital part of overall personal health, and it deserves the same attention we give to physical well-being.”
The statement noted that among the US Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers, the USS Lincoln’s crew currently reports a relatively low number of mental health-related cases. However, he did acknowledge that extended time at sea “presents unique challenges and hardships” for the crew.
The USS Lincoln has been deployed in the Middle East due to the latest US-Iran conflict, having been at sea for more than eight months now — with 250 consecutive days without pulling into port. CNN reported on the 15th that the Lincoln might be on track to break the record for the longest deployment away from port since the Vietnam War. Because the ship went over six months without a port call during this deployment, combined with the high-stress combat environment of participating in airstrikes on Iran, the morale and mental health of the roughly 5,000 crew members are said to be in serious trouble.
Struggling with supply shortages, frequent equipment failures, immense psychological pressure, and no chance to dock for rest, sailors aboard the Lincoln told CNN that morale is desperately low, and they’ve repeatedly heard of shipmates expressing suicidal thoughts. According to the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, there have been at least two incidents of sailors jumping overboard from the carrier.
Worried about the mental state of those on board, about 200 family members of the crew have met with acting Navy Secretary Terence Emmert in San Diego. But Navy officials say they’ve “not seen an increase in reported suicidal thoughts or attempts,” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed reports of the Lincoln’s dire conditions as “completely false” and “totally distorted.” President Trump told reporters on the 14th that the Lincoln’s deployment of nearly nine months is “not nearly enough.” One sailor’s wife, speaking to CNN, urged Trump and Hegseth to “show some empathy.”
