Trump says USS Abraham Lincoln deployment 'not nearly long enough' amid outcry from families

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Set us as preferred Democratic lawmakers and military families are pressing the Pentagon for answers after reports emerged that thousands of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have endured food shortages, plumbing failures and severe fatigue during deployment that has stretched more than 260 days.The roughly 5,000-person crew, which left San Diego in November and has been stationed in the Middle East to support the U.S.war against Iran, has spent a record amount of uninterrupted time at sea.

Now, families of those on board have begun speaking out publicly, describing concerns about mental health and supply issues aboard the aircraft carrier.Since those reports — which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth characterized as “completely misrepresented” — the U.S.military announced plans to send the USS George Washington, a Pacific-based aircraft carrier, to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln.But when asked Friday for a reaction, Trump downplayed families’ concerns and characterized the length of the deployment as “not nearly long enough.”The president’s remarks stand in contrast to the concerns raised by lawmakers and military families, including reports by the Military Times and the Stars and Stripes that sailors tried to jump overboard as the deployment kept going.

World & Nation This comes as reports have emerged of mental health and supply problems aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose long deployment to the Middle East in support of the Iran war includes a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.“The plans in the works to relieve the USS Lincoln are not enough,” Rep.Mike Levin (D-San Diego) wrote in a letter to Hegseth on Thursday.

“We need clear and honest information from the Department of Defense about the operational failures that led to the problems aboard the USS Lincoln to...