US4 min(s) read
Published 09:55 15 Aug 2026 GMT
Anonymous text messages from sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have described conditions so bad that multiple crew members have reportedly tried to jump into the sea.
The aircraft carrier has been deployed for nearly nine months.
The ship left San Diego on November 21, 2025, with more than 5,000 sailors and Marines on board. They were supposed to come home in May. They are still out there.
The deployment has been extended twice since the Iran war began, and there is no announced return date.
Messages shared with journalist Aaron Parnas at MeidasTouch by family members of those on board describe a ship running out of the basics.
"This deployment is the worst one and I pray no other boat goes through the same," one sailor wrote to their partner.
One message included a photo of dry cereal. The sailor had not had milk in three months.
When their family member asked why, the reply was blunt: "It takes so long for supplies to arrive, nothing fresh is included.
"So the supply ship that comes here can't bring fruits and stuff cause it can't stay fresh long enough with the time it gets them to get here.
"So we haven't had anything fresh but meat cause it's freezed. Sometimes it gets here rotten."
Other messages described no workable toilets, undercooked chicken, mold, no soap, and mail that rarely gets through.
Another note, shared publicly by Parnas, read: "The Navy does not care."
Multiple sailors have reportedly attempted to go overboard during the deployment.
On August 3, one sailor jumped.
He was in the water for approximately an hour before he was pulled out.
His wife spoke to MS NOW in an exclusive interview and said she was not contacted by the Navy for four days after it happened.
"I think that it was handled very poorly because they didn't inform me and they didn't want me to know, and they're just trying to cover this up," she said.
She said her husband had raised mental health concerns with leadership on the ship before jumping but had been 'brushed off'. In a text message she shared, he wrote: "The boat is finally getting to me."
He was medically evacuated and she was waiting for him to arrive back in San Diego at the time of the interview.
The Navy has denied reports of 'suicidal sailors' but acknowledged concerns about conditions and mental health among the crew.
Around 200 family members attended a meeting at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego last week with Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao.
He reassured them that a USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group was being readied to relieve the Lincoln's crew.
Many families left the meeting unsatisfied.
They have raised concerns about exhaustion, low morale, and the mental health of their relatives for weeks. Several have spoken publicly. Most have not been given a return date.
Since MeidasTouch began reporting on the conditions, Parnas said his inbox has been 'flooded' with messages from families of those aboard the Lincoln and from crew on other ships describing similar problems across multiple vessels.
TMZ reported that the mother of a sailor who served on the USS Tripoli sent messages describing comparable conditions, suggesting the issues are not limited to one ship.
When asked about the deployment at a press conference, Trump said it was 'not nearly long enough'.
He also dismissed reports that families were worried about the crew, saying: "No they're not."
The comments drew immediate backlash from lawmakers, military families, and veterans' groups. Multiple outlets reported that the exchange had gone viral within hours.
The Navy says the Theodore Roosevelt strike group will relieve the Lincoln, though no specific date has been confirmed. Additional mental health support is being sent to the ship.
Lawmakers from both parties are demanding answers. The deployment is already the longest for a carrier in years and the conditions described in the texts have drawn comparisons with some of the worst living standards reported on US military vessels in recent memory.
The Lincoln joined the Iran war from the beginning. Its crew has been at sea for nine months with rotten food, no fresh produce, broken plumbing, and no clear end in sight.
One sailor's text to their partner summed it up: "I pray no other boat goes through the same."
If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988. The Veterans Crisis Line can be reached at 988, then press 1.
