Summary

USS George Washington replaces Lincoln amid crew stress concerns The USS George Washington has taken over in the Middle East as the USS Abraham Lincoln heads home after a record deployment. The handover keeps pressure on Iran-linked operations but briefly leaves Asia without a US carrier strike group. The Asia-based USS George Washington has begun operating in the Middle East, replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln after a long deployment that drew scrutiny over reports of crew stress, poor mental health and shortages of food and hygiene products, the US military said on Thursday. The change comes as the US keeps up operations linked to the Iran war, including a reimposed blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. It also leaves Asia without an American aircraft carrier group for now, at a time when China has shown more signs of aggression. US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said on social media that the George Washington arrived in the region on Wednesday. It was not clear when the Abraham Lincoln would return to the US or whether it would make a port stop on the way, though the journey takes just over a month. Concern has grown over the Lincoln's lengthy deployment, which included more than 250 uninterrupted days at sea, a record-setting stretch for the carrier. Reports from the ship pointed to crew stress, poor mental health and shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products. Several Democratic lawmakers have sought accountability from the Department of Defence over conditions aboard the Lincoln. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the reports were "completely misrepresented." Hegseth spoke with the Lincoln's crew last week, and Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, visited over the weekend. In an editorial published in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Cooper wrote that the crew had "delivered a performance for the ages, and now you are going home." In a statement issued after visiting the carrier, he praised its leaders for prioritising mental health and resilience, and said, "History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era." Extended carrier deployments can put pressure on both sailors and equipment. Although renewed hostilities between the US and Iran have eased in recent weeks, the Navy is enforcing the reimposed blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has not said how it plans to wind down the war. Hegseth has said the US can maintain the blockade "indefinitely." President Donald Trump this week played down the reports about conditions on the Lincoln, which left its home port in San Diego in November and arrived in the Middle East in January. He described the nearly nine months at sea as a "good period of time", adding that "over the years, we've had them out there much longer." Trump also told reporters on Monday that he had spoken to a retired admiral over the weekend who said the Lincoln was "beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of," though he did not name the officer. The George Washington has joined the USS George H.W. Bush in the Middle East. That leaves Asia without a US carrier strike group for now, though the gap may be brief if the Navy sends another one in the next couple of months. The move highlights the strain of open-ended operations linked to Iran on some American sailors, analysts say, even as the Trump administration further retreats from the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on the Western Hemisphere. Overall, the George Washington's arrival marks a handover in the Middle East as the Lincoln heads towards home after an unusually long deployment that triggered concern over crew welfare, while the US continues its Iran-related mission and temporarily leaves the Pacific without an American carrier strike group. With PTI Inputs