EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout photo obtained from the U.S. Defence Department, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) sail in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 6, 2026. According to the U.S. government, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. The deployment to the region comes as the U.S. continues to put pressure on Iran over its nuclear program and its response to recent anti-government protests. (Handout photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jesse Monford/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Handout/Getty Images

The USS George Washington is expected to replace the Lincoln, but nobody knows when




SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 20: Sailors and marines man the rail as the U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is guided by tugboats in San Diego Bay as it returns to its homeport of Naval Air Station North Island after a 5-month deployment to the Middle East on December 20, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

The last time the Lincoln and its 5,000 occupants visited a port was a two-day stop in Guam in December of 2025, and it originally left port in San Diego a month prior to that in November 2025. According to The New Republic, following the destruction of our resupply base, “The U.S. Navy was forced to evacuate most personnel, and move supply operations to a U.K. naval base on Diego Garcia, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean 2,200 miles from where two aircraft carrier groups have been operating in the Gulf of Oman.”

When asked whether the record-breaking deployments have gone on for too long and whether he’s worried about the troops’ mental health, President Donald Trump said, “No. No. No – not nearly long enough.” Reports from sailors aboard the ship have revealed a much different reality, including a limited amount of fresh food, moldy showers, broken toilets, no soap, deodorant, or toothpaste, and at least one sailor who jumped overboard.

The USS George Washington is expected to replace the Lincoln in the Middle East according to NBC News, but it could take several weeks for the replacement to be complete, and then it will take at least two weeks for the Lincoln to return to its home base in San Diego.