The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, US Central Command announced on Thursday, as a US official told The New York Times that the USS Abraham Lincoln began its journey back to the US on the same day.
This comes a week after US Senator Richard Blumenthal demanded a formal inquiry into the conditions aboard the Lincoln amid reports of low morale, suicide attempts, supply shortages, water contamination, and several other issues.
CENTCOM refuted claims that soldiers had tried to jump off the Lincoln in a post on X/Twitter.
In the post, CENTCOM said, “USS Abraham Lincoln has maintained among the highest crew reenlistment rates (84.4%) of all aircraft carriers in the US Navy. The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraft flights, and 1.5 million pounds of ordnance expended.”
Footage purporting to show the poor conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) aircraft carrier was published in a TikTok post by a US Navy sailor on Sunday.
The footage, allegedly recorded onboard the ship, shows one of the carrier's bathrooms, with the sailor describing the conditions as "atrocious."
CENTCOM condemned what it called “rampant misreporting” as a disservice to those serving aboard the Lincoln.
"The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraft flights, and 1.5 million pounds of ordnance expended," CENTCOM wrote in a post on X.
Miriam Sela-Eitam and Esther Davis contributed to this report.
