2026-08-15T04:01:29.450Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/15/politics/sailors-air-craft-carriers-longer-deployments-uss-abraham-lincoln
美国“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航母正处于一项创纪录的部署任务中，该舰已连续六个月以上不靠港，舰上水兵面临士气和心理健康问题。该舰可能打破越南战争以来美国航母离港时间最长的纪录。
这项纪录仅在数月前由“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母创下，该舰完成了为期326天的部署，期间执行了针对伊朗和委内瑞拉的行动。
根据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）对部署公告和美国海军学会新闻网（USNI News）舰队追踪数据的分析，这种情况正成为常态，美国海军越来越多地要求其航母战斗群超出海军建议的7个月部署时长。
专家和前官员警告称，这种趋势可能会给舰艇带来更大压力，导致水兵 burnout（倦怠），甚至促使一些人彻底离开海军。
一名在“林肯”号上服役的水兵向CNN透露，舰上士气非常低落，他多次听闻同舰水兵有自杀念头。该水兵还表示，舰上基本生活设施经常出现问题——舰上各处的厕所和饮水机频繁关闭，热水也经常无法供应。
“我们每天醒来听舰长讲话时，都满怀期待又焦虑不安地盼望着关于返航的最新消息，”这名水兵告诉CNN。
其他接受CNN采访的“林肯”号水兵表示，此次部署的状况与他们此前的任务截然不同，主要原因是实战任务让该舰无法停靠友好港口。舰艇通常可以在靠港期间补充物资，让水兵得以休息放松。
水兵和家属向CNN透露，该舰曾出现间歇性的食品短缺、卫生用品供应不足，以及水处理系统故障等问题。
“以前你可以在舰上商店买到任意数量的商品，各类卫生用品都能随时买到，”一名因担心遭到报复而要求匿名的水兵告诉CNN。而现在购买商品有限制，“几乎很难随时买到卫生用品。”
华盛顿新美国安全中心智库研究主管、国防专家凯特·库兹明斯基表示，海军需要根据实际情况调整部署模式，以便合理地向水兵及其家属明确预期。
“对于刚被分配到‘福特’号的家庭来说，这意味着什么？”库兹明斯基问道，她认为“这可能会促使人们或家庭决定离开（海军）”。
CNN此前曾报道，近几个月来，分配到“林肯”号打击群的两名水兵跳海，两名水兵均被救回，美国官员证实了这一情况。据《海军时报》和《星条旗报》的报道，还有其他人曾试图跳海但被阻止。
一名“林肯”号水兵的父亲匿名接受CNN采访时表示，他理解像自己孩子这样的水兵参军是为了履行职责，在战斗中完成任务本身就很艰难，但他质疑为什么救援迟迟不到位，以及长期部署带来的部分精神压力是否本可以避免。
美国海军在给CNN的一份声明中表示：“我们没有观察到舰上自杀念头或自杀行为有所增加。我们高度重视每名服役人员的福祉，设有宗教、医疗和心理健康专业人员，可在相关问题出现时进行评估和处理。”
一名美国官员补充称，海军不认为部署时长与自杀念头之间存在关联，且人员落水事件并非该舰队独有。
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周五似乎回应了有关“林肯”号部署时长的问题，他对记者表示，这次部署“还远远不够长”。
一名匿名的“林肯”号水兵妻子周五告诉CNN记者杰克·塔珀，总统说话前“不经思考”，并敦促特朗普和国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯“多些同理心”。
“为你们的军队、你们的舰艇、你们的战争承担起责任吧。就是你们挑起的这场战争。这太令人愤怒了，”她说。
根据CNN审查的数据，美国本土航母部署的中位时长自2020年以来持续上升。
根据海军上将达里尔·考德尔的说法，海军的计划是为水兵提供可预测的三年周期，其中包括7个月（210天）的部署任务。2018年至2022年间，大多数部署时长都保持在目标时长以内或仅相差几天。
然而，自2023年10月哈马斯对以色列发动恐怖袭击引发一系列延长部署以来，海军经常未能达到这一目标。
“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号和“德怀特·D·艾森豪威尔”号均在以哈战争爆发后延长了部署时间——“福特”号在离港260天后于2024年1月回国，“艾森豪威尔”号则在离港274天后于2024年7月返港。
2024年开始的三次航母部署均超过了250天。
2025年，航母舰队的部署任务更加紧张，两次延长的部署时长均超过270天，其中包括“福特”号创下越南战争后最长纪录的326天部署任务，该部署于2025年6月启动。
这次部署从弗吉尼亚州诺福克的母港出发，该超级航母首先前往欧洲，随后前往加勒比海，其战机在突袭中参与了抓捕前强人尼古拉斯·马杜罗的行动，之后前往中东，尽管遭遇重大火灾，仍参与了针对伊朗的“史诗暴怒行动”。
专家向CNN表示，在“福特”号和“林肯”号执行的这类长期任务中，部件会出现磨损，海上维修只能起到临时补救作用。其他小问题也会逐渐累积：用于拦截降落战机的拦阻索开始磨损，海水渗入舰载系统等等。
消息人士称，这些问题累积起来会增加事故发生的概率。
专家和前官员告诉CNN，船员及其家属的倦怠也可能成为一个隐患。
退役海军少将布鲁斯·吉林厄姆曾在新冠疫情期间担任海军军医长，他告诉CNN，疫情期间不允许舰艇靠港的长期部署中，“关键因素之一”是“水兵和海军陆战队员的适应能力”。
“这并非史无前例，”吉林厄姆说。“我的意思是，纵观海军历史，世界局势要求延长部署时长，水兵们都会响应号召……海军执行海外任务，这是本职工作，而且海军在这方面非常出色。但这并不意味着它不会给人员和舰艇带来压力。”
据熟悉海军内部讨论的消息人士透露，海军飞行员和维修人员的留存问题今年一直是人们高度关注的领域。
根据CNN获得的赫格塞斯3月的一份备忘录，今年早些时候，赫格塞斯下令对海军打击战斗机中队水兵的留存困境进行审查。为了留住顶尖人才，海军还每年向飞行军官和海军飞行员提供数万美元的奖金。
与此同时，“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号作为2025年的第三次部署任务，自11月21日离开圣迭戈以来，至今已持续近9个月。该舰船员最近一次靠岸是在12月11日，停靠关岛。尽管驻扎日本的“乔治·华盛顿”号航母正前往接替“林肯”号在波斯湾的封锁任务，但“林肯”号在返回加州的途中，可能会打破“福特”号的部署时长纪录。
几名“林肯”号航母服役人员的家属告诉CNN，“林肯”号的持续部署给家属带来了压力。
阿什利·T是“林肯”号一名水兵的母亲，她表示，水兵家属寄去的包裹有时会延迟数月送达，甚至完全丢失。她要求CNN隐去她的姓氏以保护儿子的身份。
“我理解他们身处战斗区域，但如果不允许他们靠岸，海军至少应该确保他们能及时收到包裹，”她说。
另一名为保护水兵而要求匿名的家属分享了卫生间区域污水溢出、马桶堵塞的照片——这一问题在“福特”号部署期间也曾出现。
一名“林肯”号水兵的配偶周五接受CNN记者塔珀采访时表示：“他说这是他经历过的最糟糕的一次部署。”
“我丈夫是那种把工作和生活分得很清楚的人，”她说。“他完成工作，回家后就把工作抛在脑后。他尽了最大努力，为美国军方辛勤工作。但他甚至说自己变了。他感觉自己变得更易怒、更沮丧，这完全不像他。作为他的妻子，听到这些话真的很难受，因为我什么也做不了，帮不了他。”
这些状况引发了人们对水兵心理健康的担忧，也引起了国会议员的关注，比如康涅狄格州民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔，他已致信五角大楼，要求就船员状况作出答复。
该打击群舰艇上的领导人此前告诉CNN，他们正在努力改善水兵的生活条件。
指挥“弗兰克·E·彼得森 Jr.”号的舰长凯西·马洪上月在驱逐舰上接受CNN记者帕梅拉·布朗采访时承认，战斗环境对水兵来说是“非常有压力的处境”。他表示，该舰会组织团体治疗和情绪宣泄会议，让水兵可以反馈意见，领导层还鼓励通过冰淇淋社交活动、水兵张贴经历梗图的公告板等轻松的方式缓解压力。
尽管面临诸多挑战，根据美国中央司令部的数据，“林肯”号打击群的水兵已执行了约1万架次飞行任务，支援对伊朗的打击行动并执行美国对伊朗的封锁。
然而，海军官员已开始根据近期行动审视当前的部署模式。
海军最高 enlisted 人员、海军总军士长约翰·佩里曼最近批评现有周期是一种“非常刻板的传送带模式”，源自“和平时期的思维定式”。
“我们必须想出一种不同的部队生成模式，”佩里曼在最近的美国军官协会活动中谈到“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号11个月的部署时说道。
问题之一在于航母是有限的资产：美国仅有11艘航母，其中一些舰艇老化，正等待新型福特级超级航母替换。由于维护需求和反应堆燃料加注计划，并非所有舰艇都能同时投入使用。
新型福特级航母也一再遭遇延误。“约翰·F·肯尼迪”号于本周开始最终海试，原计划于2027年3月交付海军——比原计划推迟了近两年。
专家告诉CNN，最近对“多丽丝·米勒”号——下一艘 scheduled 的福特级超级航母——的变更可能会进一步推迟其建造进度。
特朗普指示海军放弃为未来福特级航母使用电磁弹射系统的计划。该级别的现役舰艇仍在使用该系统，但“米勒”号及后续舰艇将使用蒸汽弹射器，与旧式尼米兹级航母相同。
哈德逊研究所造船专家布莱恩·克拉克告诉CNN，这将要求对“米勒”号进行重新设计。成本“可能将达到数十亿美元”，并可能将原定于2034年左右服役的该航母推迟“到下一个十年末”。
任何延误都可能迫使海军延长部署时间，以弥补原本计划投入使用的舰艇缺口，或让最后一批尼米兹级航母超期服役至50年的服役年限之外。
戴维斯·温基在CNN的报道得到了Outrider基金会与新闻资助合作伙伴（JFP）的合作支持。CNN对报道保留完全的编辑控制权。
CNN的卡安妮塔·艾耶、肖恩·林格斯、扎卡里·科恩、布赖恩·托德和罗斯·阿德金为本报道做出了贡献。
Sailors on carriers like the USS Abraham Lincoln feel the strain as Navy deployments stretch longer
2026-08-15T04:01:29.450Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/15/politics/sailors-air-craft-carriers-longer-deployments-uss-abraham-lincoln
The USS Abraham Lincoln is in the midst of a record-setting deployment, kept out of port for more than six months as the carrier’s crew faces morale and mental health concerns. The ship may break a record for the longest trip away from its home port for a US carrier since the Vietnam War.
That record was set just months ago by the USS Gerald R. Ford after that ship completed a 326-day deployment that included operations against Iran and Venezuela.
It’s part of a pattern, with the US Navy increasingly asking its aircraft carrier groups to exceed the service’s recommended deployment duration of seven months, according to a CNN analysis of deployment announcements and the USNI News fleet tracker.
Experts and former officials have warned that the trend could place more stress on the ships and lead to burnout among sailors or even push some to leave the Navy altogether.
A crew member serving on the Lincoln described morale on the ship as very low and said they had heard repeatedly about suicidal ideation by fellow crew members. And there were regular strains on essential amenities — toilets and water fountains around the ship frequently closed and hot water often unavailable, the crew member said.
“Everyday we wake up and listen to our Captain speak, we are desperately hoping and anxious for updates on our return,” the crew member told CNN.
Other sailors aboard the Lincoln who spoke with CNN described conditions unlike their prior deployments, largely due to the combat that has kept the carrier from making stops at friendly ports. Ships can take on new supplies and allow its sailors to rest and relax during those port calls.
The ship has experienced intermittent food shortages, low supplies of hygiene items, and problems with the water system, sailors and family members told CNN.
“You used to be able to go to the ship store and get as many items as you want, with every hygiene product consistently available,” one sailor, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisal, told CNN. Now there are limits on purchases and “hardly any hygiene products (are) readily available.”
Kate Kuzminski, a defense expert who oversees research at the Center for a New American Security think tank, said the Navy needs to realign its deployment model with reality to properly set expectations for sailors and their families.
“What does it do to a family who’s newly assigned to the Ford?” asked Kuzminski, who argued that “it could drive people’s or families’ decisions to get out (of the Navy).”
CNN previously reported that two sailors assigned to the Lincoln strike group have jumped overboard in recent months. Both were rescued alive, US officials said. Others were prevented from jumping, according to reports from the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes.
The father of a sailor aboard the Lincoln who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity, said he understands sailors like his child join the Navy to do their jobs and doing them in combat is inherently hard – but he questions why relief hasn’t come sooner and whether some of the mental strain from the long deployment could have been prevented.
The Navy said in a statement to CNN, “We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or 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 US official added that the Navy does not believe there is a correlation between deployment length and thoughts of self-harm and that man overboard incidents are not unique to this fleet.
President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to address a question about the length of the Lincoln deployment, telling reporters that it had been “not nearly long enough.”
The wife of one service member aboard the Lincoln who requested anonymity told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday that the president doesn’t think “before he talks,” and urged both he and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to have “some empathy.”
“Take some accountability for what’s going on with your military, your ships, in your war. In your war. It’s infuriating,” she said.
The median length of US-based aircraft carrier deployments has steadily increased since 2020, according to the data reviewed by CNN.
The Navy’s plan has aimed to provide predictable three-year cycles for sailors that include a seven-month/210-day deployment, according to Adm. Daryl Caudle. Between 2018 and 2022, most deployments remained under or within a few days of the target length.
However, the sea service has routinely missed that mark since the October 2023 Hamas terror attacks against Israel sparked a spate of extended deployments.
The USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower both saw deployments extended after the Israel-Hamas war began — the Ford returned home in January 2024 after 260 days away, and the Ike’s July 2024 homecoming came after 274 days.
Three different carrier deployments that began in 2024 exceeded 250 days.
The following year, 2025, saw the carrier force even more stretched, with two extended deployments passing 270 days, including the Ford’s post-Vietnam War record breaker 326-day trip, which began in June 2025.
That deployment took the supercarrier from homeport in Norfolk, Virginia, first to Europe and next to the Caribbean, where its planes struck Venezuela during the raid that captured former strongman Nicolas Maduro, and then to the Middle East where it participated in Operation Epic Fury against Iran despite a major fire.
Experts told CNN that on extended missions, like that undertaken by the Ford and the Lincoln, components wear out and repairs at sea serve as temporary band aids. Other minor issues also begin to compound: arresting cables that catch landing aircraft begin to fray, and saltwater seeps into shipboard systems, among others.
Those issues can add up and increase the chances of mishaps, the sources said.
Burnout for crew members and their families can also become a concern, experts and former officials told CNN.
Retired Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham, who previously served as the Navy Surgeon General during the Covid-19 pandemic, told CNN that one of the “critical factors” of extended deployments during the pandemic, which did not allow ships to make port calls, was “how resilient the sailors and Marines were.”
“This is not unprecedented,” Gillingham said. “I mean, when you look at the history of the Navy, world events require that deployments be lengthened, and the sailors answer the call … The Navy plays the away game, that’s the nature of the business, and it’s very good at it. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t put stress on the people and the ships.”
Retention of naval aviators and maintenance personnel has been an area of significant concern this year, according to sources familiar with the Navy’s internal discussions.
Earlier this year, Hegseth ordered a review of retention struggles for sailors assigned to Navy Strike Fighter Squadrons, according to a March memo from Hegseth obtained by CNN. To retain top talent, the Navy is also offering flight officers and naval aviators tens of thousands of dollars annually in bonuses.
Meanwhile, a third 2025 deployment — that of the USS Abraham Lincoln — remains underway nearly nine months after the ship left San Diego on November 21. Most of its crew last touched land in Guam for a December 11 port call. Although a Japan-based carrier, the USS George Washington, is on its way to relieve the Lincoln from its blockade duties in the Persian Gulf, the Lincoln may break the Ford’s deployment length record on its way home to California.
The continued deployment of the Lincoln has placed strains on families, several relatives of those serving on the carrier told CNN.
Care packages sent by sailors’ family members sometimes arrive months late or go missing entirely, Ashley T., the mother of a sailor aboard the Lincoln said. She requested that CNN withhold her last name to protect the sailor’s identity.
“I understand they are in a combat zone, but if they aren’t allowed any port calls, the least (the Navy) could do is make sure they are getting packages in a timely fashion,” she said.
Another family member, who requested anonymity to protect their sailor, shared photos of overflowing toilets in sewage-saturated restroom areas — an issue also experienced by the Ford during its deployment.
The spouse of a service member aboard the Lincoln who spoke to CNN told Tapper on Friday, “He is saying that it is the worst deployment that he’s ever been on.”
“My husband is a very leave-it-at-work type of person,” she said. “He gets his job done. He comes home, and he lets it go at work. He does his best. He works very hard for United States military, and he’s even said that he finds himself changing. He feels himself being angrier and more frustrated, and that’s just very unlike him. So it’s very hard to hear that as his wife when I can’t do anything about it. I can’t help him.”
The conditions have fueled concerns about sailor mental health as well and scrutiny from lawmakers such as Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who wrote a letter to the Pentagon demanding answers on that status of the crew.
Leaders aboard the strike group’s ships are working to improve conditions for their sailors, they previously told CNN.
Capt. Casey Mahon, who commands the USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr., acknowledged to CNN’s Pamela Brown aboard the destroyer last month that the combat conditions pose a “very stressful situation” for the sailors. He said the ship holds group therapy and venting sessions where sailors can provide feedback, and leaders encourage lighter-hearted methods of stress relief such as ice cream socials and bulletin boards where sailors can post memes about their experiences.
And despite the challenges, the sailors of the Lincoln strike group have launched approximately 10,000 aircraft flights supporting strikes on Iran and enforcing the US blockade of the country, according to US Central Command.
Yet Navy officials have been questioning the current model in light of recent operations.
The Navy’s top enlisted sailor, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman, recently criticized the existing cycle as a “conveyor belt that’s very prescriptive” derived from a “peacetime mindset.”
“We’re going to have to come up with a different force generation model,” Perryman said while discussing the USS Gerald R. Ford’s 11-month deployment during a recent Military Officers Association of America event.
Part of the problem is that aircraft carriers are a finite asset: the US has eleven of the ships, some of which are aging and pending replacement with new Ford-class supercarriers. Not all the ships are simultaneously available due to maintenance requirements and reactor fueling schedules as well.
The new Ford-class carriers have faced repeated delays, too. The USS John F. Kennedy, which began its final sea trials this week, is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in March 2027 — nearly two years later than originally projected.
And recently announced changes to the USS Doris Miller — the next scheduled Ford-class supercarrier — could delay its construction even further, experts told CNN.
Trump directed that the Navy scrap its plans to use an electromagnetic system for launching aircraft from future Ford-class ships. The current ships in the class use the system, but the Miller and future ships will use steam-powered launch catapults like those on the legacy Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
That will require the Miller to be redesigned, Hudson Institute shipbuilding expert Bryan Clark told CNN. The cost “will probably be into the billions” and it could delay the carrier — which was expected to be in service around 2034 — “until the end of the next decade.”
Any delay could force the Navy to extend deployments to cover for a ship it had planned to have available or operate its last-generation Nimitz-class carriers beyond their 50-year service life.
Davis Winkie’s work at CNN is supported by a partnership between Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners (JFP). CNN retains full editorial control of the reporting.
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Sean Lyngaas, Zachary Cohen, Brian Todd and Ross Adkin contributed to this report.
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