Moldy showers and no soap: Military families are outraged by conditions on USS Lincoln

Moldy showers. Food shortages. Sailors running out of toothpaste, deodorant and soap.

Families of the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are sounding the alarm that their loved ones are so exhausted they fear it could lead to deadly mistakes, as the carrier enters its ninth month at sea and its fifth consecutive month of combat operations against Iran.

MS NOW spoke to a dozen family members who say they are extremely concerned with the morale, safety and conditions on the ship. They described a crew straining under the demands of an unexpectedly long deployment, as President Donald Trump continues to extend his military campaign against Iran with no clear end in sight. 

The families told MS NOW there is no indication of when their loved ones are going to return home, as the routine seven-month deployment for the 5,000-plus crew members appears to have been extended for a second time. Three family members agreed to make their names public, while others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns the military would retaliate against their loved ones on the ship. 

Most sailors are working excruciatingly long shifts, and depending on their job, some are rarely getting a day off, family members told MS NOW. One father, who is a Navy veteran, said his son described seeing holes that have worn through the Lincoln's flight deck. 

The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is already one of the most dangerous places in the military. High-speed aircraft with powerful engines can burn sailors and blow them overboard. Spinning propellers can cause accidents. And the constant loading and unloading of bombs, missiles and rockets pose the risk of explosions and fires.  

It is a fast-moving, tightly packed, extremely loud environment that can lead to hearing loss from the relentless engine noise — and the work on deck is physically demanding and done in elements like wind, rain, heat and cold. 

The crew of the Lincoln has had only two days off the aircraft carrier since it left its home port in San Diego in November. The ship had a short port call in Guam in December and then did not have another stop until July 7, when it briefly pulled into Oman after 208 continuous days at sea — a modern-day record for a Navy aircraft carrier. 

Long workdays with few breaks can lead to accidents, said Brett Snow, a Navy veteran whose son is serving on the Lincoln. Even when a carrier is operating in peacetime, it is an extremely hazardous place to work, Snow said.  “It's the most dangerous place in the world already, and now you're grinding it out, day in and day out, with no breaks,†he said. “It's an environment that's ripe for accidents.â€Â 

Keeping up the driving pace with few respites in port is also sapping morale, several family members said.  

“The morale is not good. Apparently, the ship's doctor or therapist said they need to hit port soon or people are going to start, you know, losing their minds,†said Bonnie York, whose stepson is on the Lincoln.  

Cmdr. Joseph Hontz, the spokesperson for the Navy's 5th Fleet, acknowledged that the Lincoln's deck has endured more than 10,000 aircraft sorties over the past eight months, but he said there are no holes in the flight deck and the crew has been able to repair the expected wear and tear when needed.  

“Though more than 250 days on deployment is challenging for the crew and their equipment, they remain resilient and ready to accomplish any tasking given to them,†Hontz said. “The ship remains fully capable of meeting all mission tasking.â€

On board, personnel have access to fitness classes at the gym and mental health and chaplain teams, and can use the internet to talk to their families, Hontz said, “when the tactical situations allow.â€Â 

Currently most family members said they are able to message with their service member on a daily basis, but that wasn't always the case. Many described their kids or spouses telling them about non-operational toilets, moldy showers, laundry facilities that were broken for weeks, and extended periods with no hot water for showering. 

In April, several news outlets published photos from family members of Lincoln sailors showing extremely small portions of food that was described as inedible, with some attributing the complicated logistics of the extended deployment as a reason that supplies were slow to get to the ship. At the time, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Adm. Daryl Caudle, chief of naval operations, both pushed back on that reporting with Hegseth describing the reports as “fake news.â€

Families told MS NOW that those reports were not fake and that they still have concerns about their service members' nutrition. 

The families say that their loved ones have described food shortages and standing in line for the ship's store for an hour or more, and that the store often lacks basic supplies like toothpaste, soap and deodorant. Families said there have been times during the deployment when the Lincoln was rationing portions.  

Nicole Conrad's son is serving on the Lincoln, and she hasn't been able to see his face in seven months. Exchanging messages from the ship, he has told her about days when the showers were locked and laundry was closed, and about food shortages on board that meant his meal was half a cup of rice and two tortillas.  

She would like Hegseth to visit the Lincoln and see the conditions on board. “Go visit. If you want to sit here and you want to say that Trump is taking care of the soldiers, go yourself,†Conrad told MS NOW in an interview.  

Conrad voted for Trump, but she is frustrated at his decision to go to war with Iran.  “He put our nose in a war that we shouldn't be in,†she said. 

The Iran war, which has been primarily fought by the Navy, at one point had three aircraft carriers in the region, accounting for more than 15,000 military personnel of the 50,000 or so service members who have been deployed this year in support of Operation Epic Fury. The USS Gerald Ford made history for the longest post-Vietnam carrier deployment at 326 days, participating in the initial strikes in Iran after supporting operations in the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. 

In April, when the USS George H.W. Bush arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, the three carriers overlapped briefly — the first time three carriers were in the Middle East simultaneously since 2003. 

Hontz, the 5th Fleet spokesperson, told MS NOW that for the Lincoln, some 40 days of sustained combat operations and more than 250 days on deployment has forced logistics planners to make adjustments to tackle challenges due to regional operations and geographical constraints.