Sailors on USS Lincoln outside Iran are exhausted and suffering from poor morale on ship, families warn | The Independent

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Sailors on USS Lincoln outside Iran are exhausted and suffering from poor morale on ship, families warn<br>‘Apparently, the ship’s doctor or therapist said they need to hit port soon or people are going to start, you know, losing their minds,’ says Bonnie York, whose stepson serves on the carrier

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Super Hornets launch from USS Abraham Lincoln enforcing blockade on Iranian ports

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Morale is plummeting on an American aircraft carrier that's running short of food and other supplies as its exhausted crew wages President Donald Trump's war against Iran, worried family members say.<br>Sailors and Marines serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln have told relatives about being served a half-cup of rice and two tortillas for a meal, and said the ship's store often lacks soap, deodorant and toothpaste, MS NOW reported Wednesday.<br>Crew members are also worn out by working long, grueling shifts, with some rarely getting a day off, and described broken toilets, moldy showers without hot water and no laundry service for weeks at a time, relatives said.

“The morale is not good,” said Bonnie York, whose stepson is aboard the Lincoln. “Apparently, the ship’s doctor or therapist said they need to hit port soon or people are going to start, you know, losing their minds.”<br>The Lincoln and its more than 5,000 personnel arrived in the Middle East in January, after leaving its home port of San Diego in November, according to MS NOW.

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‘The morale is not good’ on the USS Abraham Lincoln, says Bonnie York, whose stepson is serving on the aircraft carrier in the Middle East (pictured) (US Navy)<br>Trump launched the war against Iran without congressional approval on February 28 and initially said it would last four to five weeks. On Wednesday, he said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and help end the war could be announced this week, according to The Associated Press.

Navy veteran Brett Snow, whose son is also on the Lincoln, warned that conditions on the ship could lead to disaster, noting that an aircraft carrier was an extremely hazardous workplace even during peacetime.<br>“It’s the most dangerous place in the world already, and now you’re grinding it out, day in and day out, with no breaks,” Snow said. “It’s an environment that’s ripe for accidents.”

An unidentified father, who's also a Navy veteran, reportedly said his son described seeing holes that have worn through the ship's deck.<br>Representative Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat who represents the Lincoln’s home port of San Diego, told MS NOW she was “deeply worried” about the crew's “exhaustion and mental health, because history has shown it can lead to serious consequences, including increased risk of suicide.”<br>open image in gallery

The flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Navy veteran Brett Snow, whose son is serving on the Lincoln, says an aircraft carrier is ‘an environment that’s ripe for accidents’ (Getty)<br>The Navy didn't immediately respond to an inquiry from The Independent. Commander Joseph Hontz told MS NOW there were no holes in the deck and said the crew has repaired wear and tear when needed.

Hontz, spokesperson for the Navy's Fifth Fleet, also acknowledged the strain on the ship's more than 5,000 crew members but said the Lincoln “remains fully capable of meeting all mission tasking.”<br>“Though more than 250 days on deployment is challenging for the crew and their equipment, they remain resilient and ready to accomplish any tasking given to them,” he said.<br>In April, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denied there were food shortages on the Lincoln and the USS Tripoli, calling it “fake news” after USA Today published photos of small portions of what it called “gross” food served to sailors and Marines.<br>Nicole Conrad, whose son is serving...