Around 5,000 sailors and marines began their service aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on November 21 last year.
In January, the ship was ordered to the Middle East to take part in the war with Iran and the US blockade of Iranian ports. The crew was supposed to have completed its mission in May, but that has not happened.
A relative tells Military Times that her husband had his deployment extended several times when he tried to jump overboard. She describes him as “burned out.”
And according to NBC News, a mother of a Marine says that conditions on board are “like (the TV series) ‘American Horror Story’ where everyone is dead, they just don’t know it yet.”
Broken toilets
The ship has been at sea for 250 days and has not docked at any port in over six months. This record-long stint - combined with reports of food shortages, broken toilets and contaminated water - has led relatives to raise the alarm about mental illness among the crew.
But their concerns are not being heard in the White House. Donald Trump does not think the USS Abraham Lincoln has been at sea for too long.
"No, no, no, far from long enough," he said in response to a direct question on Friday.
And when asked about relatives' concerns about conditions on board and the soldiers' mental health, he answered briefly, according to CNN:
No, they haven't.
The media company reports that a person was rescued from the water after jumping overboard. The person reportedly did not suffer any physical injuries.
In another incident on the ship, a sailor stopped a colleague from jumping overboard. According to witnesses, he pulled the colleague back onto the deck by the arms. Another similar incident is reported by Stars and Stripes.
Will be relieved
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal sent a list of questions to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday about the problems on board.
Pete Hegseth has previously dismissed the concerns, saying that the country's military leadership is ensuring that "every ship, every crew, every captain has everything they need," according to The Washington Post.
On Thursday, it was announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln will finally be relieved by another ship. However, the rotation was reportedly planned even before the reports of the problems on board.
