BBC:
Thousands of US military members who have lived aboard an aircraft carrier for more than 250 days are reportedly contending with food shortages, broken plumbing and exhaustion, leading lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon and pressuring the Trump administration over the Iran war.
Military news outlets reported that some USS Abraham Lincoln sailors have attempted to jump overboard, and families have raised concerns about mental health onboard the ship.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday called reports of conditions “completely misrepresented”.
The carrier left California in November for the South China Sea and was sent to the Middle East ahead of attacks on Iran in February.
The deployment, which was originally set to end in May, has been repeatedly extended. No return date has been announced, but on Thursday multiple outlets reported the US is preparing to replace the carrier with the USS George Washington as part of a previously scheduled rotation plan.
Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal listed the reported hardships on the carrier, where about 5,000 people are on board, in a letter to Hegseth: “Shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care packages in route to the ship to be lost in transit for months.”
“These reports warrant immediate attention,” the Democrat,who serves on the Armed Services Committee,wrote, “but they also raise a broader question: whether the Navy can sustain the operational tempo now being demanded of its carrier force.”
Fellow Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego called for the military to allow a congressional delegation to visit the ship and “conduct oversight investigation into this horrible situation,” he posted on X, adding: “There is no reason to be denied access.”
