New aircraft carrier heads to Middle East amid concerns about USS Lincoln conditions

August 14, 2026 / 11:16 AM EDT / CBS News

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The USS George Washington aircraft carrier is headed to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, a U.S. official tells CBS News. The Lincoln has been deployed for almost nine months and in recent weeks, some families have voiced concerns about conditions on the ship.

During a town hall with the acting Navy secretary last week, some families expressed frustration that he offered no update about when the carrier would come home. But the Navy does not usually publicly announce the exact timing of a carrier’s movements in order to protect the ship’s security. The USS Lincoln deployed in November 2025, first to the Pacific but then was sent to the Middle East ahead of the Iran war.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the USS Washington would replace the USS Lincoln in the Middle East.

At least one spouse during the town hall voiced concerns about the mental well-being of her partner, according to a person familiar with the events. Media reports this week quoted some family members who said they had heard multiple sailors had thought about jumping overboard.

The Navy pushed back on the notion that there is a mental health crisis onboard. In a statement to CBS News, a Navy spokesperson said, “We have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship. We take every service member’s well-being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise.”

A Navy official told CBS News there has been a decrease in suicidal ideation cases as the deployment has gone on.

There is one incident of a sailor going overboard earlier this month that is being investigated, according to the Navy. The sailor was rescued safely and left the ship for follow-on care. The circumstances of how and why the sailor fell overboard are unclear and part of the investigation.

One spouse of a service member on the Lincoln told CBS News that earlier in the deployment, the sailors experienced some food shortages while they waited for resupply, but that has been resolved.

The Navy in a statement acknowledged some delays for other items. The ship is “in a highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions.”

“In response, leadership prioritized mission-critical supplies: first food, then hygiene items, then mail,” the statement said. “Current reports from the ship confirm continuous access to clean water, functional air conditioning and healthy meal options.”

Democrats have pressed the Pentagon for more information about the conditions on the ship.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters yesterday that some of the reporting was “completely misrepresented.”

“We make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth said. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody.”

The Japan-based USS George Washington left port in Yokosuka in May for a Pacific patrol and was seen this week moving west through the Strait of Malacca. Once in the Middle East, it will join the USS George H.W. Bush carrier and leave the U.S. without a carrier in the Pacific.