Trump’s Beleaguered Warship Heads Home After Grueling Middle East Deployment

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images An American aircraft carrier caught up in Donald Trump’s war on Iran is finally heading home after a brutal nine-month deployment that saw conditions aboard deteriorate dangerously.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is heading back to its home port of San Diego after being replaced by the Japan-based USS George Washington, a U.S. official told The New York Times.

The ship’s departure comes weeks after concerns were raised about the welfare of the crew of about 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard.

President Trump launched his war against Iran in February, confidently predicting that it would last just “a few weeks.” But the conflict is now nearing its sixth month, with no end in sight.

The Abraham Lincoln left San Diego on Nov.

21 last year and has spent almost all of the 272 days since at sea, making only brief stops in Guam in December and in Oman to replenish supplies, according to the Times.

The ship was close to breaking a record for the longest trip for a U.S. carrier away from its home port since the Vietnam War.

The USS Gerald R.

Ford broke that record—it was on deployment for 326 days before returning home in mid-May.

Family members of sailors aboard the Abraham Lincoln have spoken out about the gross conditions on the aircraft carrier, whose deployment was originally expected to last seven months before being extended.

Conditions reportedly deteriorated after Iran destroyed a U.S.

Navy base in Manama, Bahrain, which had served as a vital supply hub for American forces in the region.

Sailors have reportedly been forced to wash in moldy showers, ration their meals and necessities such as soap, toothpaste, and deodorant, while many are working to the point of exhaustion, with some experiencing deteriorating mental health.

Bonnie York, whose stepson is aboard the vessel, previously told MS NOW she had been informed that a doctor or therapist on the ship had warned that the crew needed to reach port before they started “losing their minds.” Reports have emerged of apparent suicide attempts aboard the carrier.