Centcom commander visits USS Abraham Lincoln amid questions about conditions on ship
The Hill · C · trust 63/100
Comments: by Mira Bhakta - 08/15/26 9:50 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Mira Bhakta - 08/15/26 9:50 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING U.S. Central Command (Centcom) commander Adm. Brad Cooper visited the USS Abraham Lincoln Saturday after the ship had been docked in the Middle East for over 260 days since November.
Centcom released a statement Saturday about the visit, stating Cooper, who oversees the war with Iran, visited the ship as part of a 10-day trip where he visited Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is a strong team of high-achieving Americans standing tall with immense, justified pride in everything they accomplished,” Cooper said in the statement. “History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era.”
Centcom stated that the crew aboard the ship completed “thousands of combat flights in support of Operation Epic Fury, regional security missions and the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran.”
The ship’s 5,000 sailors and Marines initially expected to end the deployment in May but it was extended to its current tenure because according to acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao the mission “demanded it.”.
Cooper visited the ship in February , as well, with the U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Centcom stated at the time the ship was in the region to “to support maritime security and stability.”
The Lincoln gained public attention when following reports from news outlets of poor conditions – including moldy showers and rotten food – and some sailors even attempting to jump off the aircraft carrier.
Cao announced Friday the ship would be coming home as part of a planned rotation with the USS George Washington taking its position. He claimed that reports from media outlets about the conditions on the Lincoln are trying to paint “our warriors as victims.”
In the days since the reports on declining conditions, Congressional Democrats have launched inquiries into the mental and physical state of crew members along with what the federal government response is.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) on Thursday also joined Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) call demanding an official, bipartisan visit to the carrier.
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