USS Abraham Lincoln’s Prolonged Deployment Raises Resupply and Crew-Wellbeing Concerns

The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been operating in the Arabian Sea since the U.S.–Israel war with Iran began on February 28. Iranian strikes on the Naval Support Activity Bahrain logistics hub damaged command headquarters, satellite-communication terminals and other facilities, prompting the Pentagon to shift resupply operations to a U.K.-run base on Diego Garcia, roughly 2,200 miles away. The loss of the “liberty port” in Bahrain has left the ship’s roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines without a regular shore break. The deployment has now exceeded 260 consecutive days at sea, a record for a carrier without a port call.

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Satellite imagery reported in June showed extensive damage at the Bahrain site, confirming the Iranian strike’s impact on U.S. supply lines. The relocation to Diego Garcia has increased transit times for food, fuel and hygiene supplies, contributing to reports of shortages and maintenance issues aboard the carrier.

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A CENTCOM spokesperson told Al Jazeera that U.S. forces had facilitated the passage of 1,300 ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Navy spokesman Commander Matthew Comer confirmed that the destroyer USS Benfold was without power for four days after a breakdown on July 24, leaving its 300-person crew without water, meals, toilets and air-conditioning.

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Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, have warned that the extended deployment endangers crew morale and mental health. Relatives of the crew have highlighted supply shortages and long work schedules.

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• “He did not make that public in press conference after press conference, and that is, again, the way that they have mishandled this war,” — David Rohde, national security reporter

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