The USS Lincoln has been at sea for 270-plus days. Here’s why conditions on board fell apart

Key Points:

• Food shortages and poor conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln resulted from Iranian missile and drone attacks on the Navy's key base in Bahrain, which forced reliance on distant logistics support from Diego Garcia, 2,200 miles away.
• The USS Abraham Lincoln's crew of about 5,000 sailors and Marines endured over 270 continuous days at sea, setting a post-Vietnam War record, with limited shore leave and reports of substandard living conditions sparking public outcry.
• Despite complaints from crew members' families and reports of deteriorating morale, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump defended the deployment, with Trump calling the deployment "not nearly long enough" and praising the crew's efforts.
• The USS George Washington has replaced the Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, with CENTCOM praising the Lincoln's deployment as one of the most operationally intense in recent history amid ongoing tensions with Iran.
• Iran's February 28 attacks severely damaged the Bahrain base, prompting a U.S. military shift in logistics and raising Pentagon considerations to reduce its Middle East presence after the conflict, following further Iranian missile attempts on Diego Garcia in March.