NewzMorale on US aircraft carrier enforcing Iran blockade plummets, as sailor jumps overboard: Report The US is set to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with the USS George Washington in the Middle East after reports of deteriorating conditions on the aircraft carrier enforcing a blockade of Iran. The Lincoln has been deployed in the Middle East for more than 250 days without a port call. At least one sailor jumped overboard the vessel, and another had to be restrained from doing so, according to media reports.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Lincoln will be rotated out of the theatre of operations and replaced with the USS George Washington. US lawmakers have raised concerns about the physical and mental health of sailors on board. The rotation comes after US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that the blockade of Iran can be conducted “indefinitely”, as fighting continues to rage for control over the Strait of Hormuz with no return to a ceasefire in sight.
"Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we'll continue to," Hegseth told reporters on Thursday. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The Lincoln’s long deployment appears to have weighed on US Navy sailors. CNN reported on Thursday that a sailor wearing a life vest went overboard the ship earlier this month amid a mental health crisis on board as a result of the extended deployment.
The sailor was rescued within an hour and transferred off the ship for treatment, CNN added. US government-linked news sites, including Stars and Strips and The Navy Times, said that another crew member was prevented from jumping overboard amid exhaustion and declining morale on board the carrier. One woman told a town hall attended by Acting Secreta…
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