An aircraft carrier at war runs on three things: fuel, ordnance, and food. The USS Abraham Lincoln never ran out of either. The Lincoln left San Diego on November 21, 2025, on what was planned as a seven-month deployment. It was extended twice. By the time the carrier pulled into Laem Chabang, Thailand, on September 2, it had been at sea for 286 days, including a record 264 days between full port visits.
Its only port breaks had been a brief stop in Guam in mid-December and an even briefer one in Oman on July 7, after 208 consecutive days underway. That brief respite is a major morale boost.
During the Vietnam War, U.S. Navy aircraft carriers on Yankee Station typically operated on the combat line for continuous stints of 30 to 35 days (often called a “line period”) before heading into port for rest, replenishment, and maintenance.
For roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, and the crews of the escorts steaming alongside, that meant months of rationed meals, missing mail, and dwindling basics.
So why did this happen?
The Supply Lines Broke From Iranian Missile Attacks
When Operation Epic Fury kicked off on February 28, the Lincoln strike group went to work.
The carrier’s air wing flew more than 10,000 sorties and expended 1.5 million pounds of ordnance before relief arrived.
The destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. alone defended against more than 100 missile and drone attacks.
Iran hit back at the logistics.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 30, 2018) An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 flies by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during dual-carrier sustainment operations with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). In addition to demonstrating the Navy’s inherent flexibility and scalability, this evolution provides the opportunity to conduct complex, multi-unit training to enhance maritime interoperability and combat readiness; prepare the Navy to protect our homeland; and preserve and promote peace anywhere around the world. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Juan Sotolongo/Released)
Aviation Museum of Kentucky USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Photo. 19FortyFive.com Image.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (July 31, 2018) Sailors prepare to transfer ordnance onto an F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Pukin’ Dogs of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143 on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jessica Paulauskas/Released)
According to New York Times reporting, Iranian missiles and drones damaged Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the Navy’s primary logistics hub in the Gulf.
With Bahrain degraded and other regional ports under threat, the Pentagon shifted resupply to Diego Garcia, roughly 2,200 miles away.
That’s not a minor detour.
Every pallet of fresh food, every case of soap and every bag of mail now had to travel thousands of miles farther to reach ships that couldn’t pull into port.
A Pentagon Inspector General report later acknowledged that supply lines in the region were stretched by the Iranian attacks.
The Escorts Were Short-Supplied As Well
A carrier has massive storerooms. Destroyers and cruisers don’t.
The Lincoln’s escorts, including the destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. and the cruiser USS Robert Smalls, lived and died by underway replenishment.
The Petersen alone conducted 45 replenishments-at-sea over a 301-day deployment and went 106 days straight without a port call.
In April, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said ships in the strike group kept at least a 10-day supply of food, with many carrying 30 days or more.
A 10-day cushion sounds fine until the resupply ship is coming from Diego Garcia. For a small combatant, that margin disappears fast.
What The Sailors Were Eating
In April, USA Today published photos of half-empty trays with small portions and gray processed meat, which families said came from the Lincoln and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli.
Caudle pushed back hard. “In no way, shape, or form has there been a time where, at least in this deployment, they’ve not met the nutritional requirements of our menu,” he said.
He argued the photos were taken ashore, and some sailors said they showed midrats, the late-night meal for watchstanders.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went further, dismissing the reports as “fake news.”
However, by August the Navy’s own tone had changed.
At a family briefing, officials acknowledged a backlog of food and mail, blaming difficulty getting supplies from Bahrain to the ship “due to the war.”
Families described rationed meals, a lack of fresh food, moldy showers and shortages of soap, toothpaste, and deodorant.
Navy officials said they had prioritized food over hygiene items and mail.
So which was it? Both things can be true.
A ship can meet the nutritional minimums on the menu and still have sailors eating the same thin rotation for months with no fresh produce.
Ground troops such as the Army and the Marine Corps have dealt with worse. That’s not starvation.
However, it’s also unacceptable on a deployment that ran five months past plan.
The Human Toll Is The Honest Cost
Anyone who has served knows that chow is morale.
Take away decent food, mail, and liberty at the same time, and you’re asking a lot of 19-year-olds working 16-hour days on a flight deck.
The numbers are sobering.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed that eight sailors from the Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during the deployment.
In August, a sailor from the air wing went overboard and was recovered.
Rep. Sara Jacobs of San Diego visited the Lincoln at sea on September 27 with a bipartisan delegation.
“For months, I’ve taken the concerns shared with me about mail delays, food and supply shortages, low morale, and mental health crises aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln straight to CENTCOM and the Navy,” she said.
She has asked the Navy Inspector General to investigate and wants the House Armed Services Committee to hold a field hearing in San Diego where crew members can testify.
And truthfully, that hearing should happen.
The point isn’t to hang anyone.
The sailors and their families deserve an honest accounting of what broke and what needs to be addressed for future deployments.
Lessons Learned For The Next Carrier
The USS George Washington relieved the Lincoln on August 19.
The Navy says it has addressed the supply problems for future deployments, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which left San Diego on September 29.
We’ll see. The bigger lesson is one the Navy should have learned long before Operation Epic Fury.
Forward logistics hubs are targets, and an adversary with missiles and drones will go after them first.
If the plan depends on a single base staying open, it isn’t a plan.
The Lincoln never ran short on bombs or munitions. It ran short on what keeps the people dropping them going.
But the biggest issue was the lack of a port call and some decompression time for the crew.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
