CENTCOM chief hails USS Abraham Lincoln’s “resilience” after reports of crisis onboard
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The commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Adm. Brad Cooper, described his recent visit to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln as “awe-inspiring,” praising the crew’s “camaraderie, teamwork and resilience” amid reports of mental health strains and difficult living conditions during one of the Navy’s longest modern deployments.
Cooper visited the ship on Saturday as part of a 10-day trip across the Middle East that included stops in Bahrain, Iraq, ‘Israel’, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Lincoln, with roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, has been at sea for more than 250 consecutive days without a port call after deploying from San Diego in November and later supporting the war and the naval blockade against Iran.
In a statement posted by CENTCOM, Cooper noted that “of the U.S. Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers, the Lincoln currently has among the lowest number of cases related to mental health.”
He added that this “doesn’t mean that all is perfect,” acknowledging difficulties of the long sea duty.
“Find any of the nearly 4 million Navy veterans in America today and they will likely tell you that service at sea for long periods isn’t for everyone,” Cooper said.
“It is uniquely challenging and tough, and every single one of us, including me, reacts to stressors in different ways.”
He emphasized that “I’ve long believed that mental health is another aspect of individual health and requires our attention just like physical health and spiritual health.”
The comments come after family members and lawmakers raised alarms about supply shortages, plumbing and water issues, low morale, and reports of sailors attempting to jump overboard.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao have pushed back, calling some media accounts “completely misrepresented” or “dishonest,” while acknowledging a small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life.
The Navy has said it is sending additional resiliency counselors and social workers to the ship.
Officials have confirmed the Lincoln will return home soon as part of a planned rotation, with the USS George Washington set to replace it in the region.
