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US commander says mental health a 'priority' on USS Lincoln
The top US military commander in the Middle East has said mental health is a "priority" on the warship USS Lincoln, following reports of difficult conditions on board the long-deployed ship.
After visiting the vessel on Saturday, Adm Brad Cooper said it had "among the lowest number of cases related to mental health" out of 11 active US aircraft carriers.
But he acknowledged that Navy service at sea for long periods was "uniquely challenging and tough".
The ship arrived in the Middle East in January and has been supporting the US war against Iran, including the blockade on Iranian ports. It has spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.
The USS George Washington is currently heading to replace the USS Lincoln and could arrive in the region in about a week.
Family members of sailors aboard the Lincoln have expressed concern about their mental health deteriorating due to the conditions, with some sailors having reportedly attempted to jump overboard.
Adm Cooper said in a statement on Sunday: "I've long believed that mental health is another aspect of individual health and requires our attention just like physical health and spiritual health.
"I applaud Lincoln's leadership for... stepping up and making mental health and crew resilience a leadership priority."
While the US Navy last week acknowledged supply challenges, it had denied a mental health crisis on the Lincoln, which has 5,000 people aboard.
Conditions aboard the ship have included poor sanitation, infrequent ports-of-call, broken plumbing and shortages of fresh food, according to reports last week in the Military Times and Stars & Stripes.
Thirteen Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter on Saturday to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, criticising the length of the deployment as "a modern-day record" and demanding answers.
Last week, Hegseth called reports of conditions "completely misrepresented", while President Donald Trump dismissed suggestions the sailors had been at sea too long, telling reporters on Friday: "Not nearly long enough."
The USS Lincoln deployment, which was originally set to end in May, has been repeatedly extended. The personnel have reportedly been at sea without a port call for over 200 consecutive days.
Maryland's Democratic Governor Wes Moore, a US Army veteran, told CNN on Sunday that the reported conditions were "heartbreaking" and the Republican president should have "more compassion".
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