Desperate Texts From USS Abraham Lincoln Sailors Reveal They’re Served Rotten Food: ‘Navy Does Not Care’

The USS Abraham Lincoln conducting joint exercises in the Arabian Sea in 2019. Credit: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Wilbur/U.S. Navy via AP

Disturbing anonymous text messages revealed the alleged lack of food aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as lawmakers demanded answers about conditions on the ship, which has reportedly seen sailors trying to jump overboard during a more than eight-month-long deployment.

Bleak conditions aboard the aircraft carrier have reportedly prompted desperate sailors to try to leap into the sea, and text messages from those aboard have shed new light on how gross things have become, according to a report by MeidasTouch’s Aaron Parnas.

More than 5,000 sailors and Marines set sail from San Diego on the Lincoln on Nov. 21, but the deployment — originally set to end in May — has been extended as the Iran war continues.

“This deployment is the worst one and I pray no other boat goes through the same,” one sailor wrote to a relative in a message shared with the outlet.

“Even people that have been deployed a hundred times claim this one to be the worst and believe it can get worse than this. The Navy does not care. The mission will always come first.”

“Haven’t had milk in 3 months,” the sailor said in another text.

“It takes so long for supplies to arrive, nothing fresh is included,” the sailor explained in another message.

“So we haven’t had anything fresh except meat caused its freezed [sic],” they wrote. “Sometimes it gets here rotten.”

The messages come as lawmakers have begun demanding answers about reports of clogged toilets, mold or mildew in the showers, a lack of supplies and problems with the food supply.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao Wednesday, asking for details on the deployment and how reported problems including lack of “hygiene products, mold, broken toilets or laundry facilities, inadequate water supplies, or other deteriorating living conditions” are being addressed:

There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care packages in route to the ship to be lost in transit for months. These reports warrant immediate attention, but they also raise a broader question: whether the Navy can sustain the operational tempo now being demanded of its carrier force, particularly as this Administration repeatedly commits U.S. forces to conflicts of its own choosing and increasingly relies on aircraft carriers to sustain those operations.

About 200 relatives turned out for a meeting with Navy officials last week, begging for help for their loved ones, MS NOW reported.

One parent said that during that meeting, their sailor had told them they thought they would die on the ship, according to the outlet. Multiple families have reported similar instances, according to Navy Times.

The Navy has denied that any of the sailors are suicidal.

“The health and well-being of every Sailor aboard Abraham Lincoln is a priority,” it said in a statement.

“Based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship. We take every service member’s well-being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise,” the Navy said.

“Lincoln is providing a comprehensive support network, including onboard deployment-resilience counselors, chaplains, Fleet and Family Support Center services, Military OneSource, and medical professionals.”

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