USS Abraham Lincoln headed for port in Thailand after 250 days at sea

Sailors and crew members on the USS Abraham Lincoln, which recently departed the Middle East after being stationed in the region as part of the U.S. conflict with Iran, have a port call scheduled after 250 days at sea, USA Today reported Monday , citing family members.

Texts to the outlet said the Lincoln planned to stop in Thailand in early September after its extended deployment. One sailor told a relative to send hotel ideas that looked good in Thailand, while another told her family member that she was excited after having talked about visiting Thailand.

The Hill has reached out to the U.S. Navy for comment.

Reports of the port call came days after the USS George Washington, the aircraft carrier intended to relieve the Lincoln, arrived in the Middle East , leaving the U.S. without a carrier in Asia.

Multiple media reports noted deteriorating conditions aboard the Lincoln in the weeks leading up to its departure from the Middle East, including rotting food and mental health concerns among crew members.

Family members of those aboard said they received urgent messages about food and water shortages and mental health issues serious enough that several sailors attempted to jump overboard.

The aircraft carrier departed San Diego in November. The strike group was originally intended to return home in May but was redirected to the Middle East in January ahead of the Iran war, and it was deployed for more than 260 days — including more than 200 consecutive days without a port call.

Most of the Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee have called for a hearing with Pentagon leadership to discuss the impact of extended deployments in support of the Iran war on U.S. service members, including on the Lincoln.

“Recent reports of sailors suffering from severe mental health issues amid deteriorating conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln have only added to a disturbing pattern of failures to adequately plan and support our troops, who have been away from their families indefinitely as the Iran War drags on,” Democratic Senators wrote in a letter to committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

President Trump and other administration officials have dismissed reports about conditions on the Lincoln, claiming them to be false.

The conflict with Iran has been locked in a stalemate, with the Trump administration announcing new sanctions of a scale and severity akin to the U.S. landing on Normandy Beach during World War II, calling the new economic warfare on Iran “Economic D-Day.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday issued a global warning for countries to cut any financial ties with Iran or risk being cut off from the U.S. dollar system.