Meltdowns and meager meals: How bad is the situation aboard US aircraft carrier attacking Iran?

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been grappling with dismal conditions for months during the US-Israeli war on Iran, amid mounting reports of severe exhaustion, supply shortages, and mental-health problems among crew members. The problems have sparked an uproar among crew members’ families and prompted demands for answers from US lawmakers.

The vessel, a 5,000-person nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier capable of carrying up to 90 aircraft and conducting more than 100 combat sorties a day at peak capacity, left San Diego in late November. It has now been deployed for more than 260 days, including more than 200 consecutive days at sea – an extraordinary stretch by Navy standards.

On top of that, the flattop has spent much of that time in a combat environment, with Iran claiming to have targeted it on numerous occasions. Even as US officials insist the carrier remains operational, the hardships of a prolonged campaign appear to be taking their toll.

Here is what we know about the issues facing the aircraft carrier and its crew.

What are conditions like aboard the Abraham Lincoln?

The complaints from crew members and their families go well beyond the usual discomforts of a long deployment.

They include shortages of toothpaste, deodorant, and soap, problems with hot and potable water, broken toilets, unreliable laundry facilities, disruptions to food supplies, and mail delays so severe that some care packages reportedly disappeared into the system for months. Other reports describe mold, failing plumbing, and holes worn through parts of the flight deck from extensive use without adequate repairs.

Democratic Congressman Mike Levin claimed that the food situation is so bad that crew members’ meals “came down to half a cup of rice and two tortillas.” The meager meals were first reported by USA Today as early as mid-April, although the Pentagon denied that there were food shortages at the time.

According to Maritime Executive, the supply problems are partly due to logistics, as the main base of the 5th Fleet is located in Bahrain, deep inside the Persian Gulf, meaning many shipments must pass through the Strait of Hormuz and risk Iranian strikes.

Is the crew burning out?

There are strong indications that it is. One of the most striking episodes confirmed by CENTCOM occurred on August 3, when a sailor went overboard from the Abraham Lincoln and was recovered roughly an hour later.

Citing US officials, CNN reported that the Navy treated the incident as a mental-health episode, adding that the sailor was medically evaluated and later removed from the ship for further care.