USS George Washington heads to Middle East to relieve strained Lincoln

The Story in Brief

The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has begun moving towards the Middle East, where the USS Abraham Lincoln has been on an extended deployment amid the US-Iran conflict. The Lincoln, with about 5,000 sailors, has been at sea since November 2025 and in the region since January. Reports from Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, cited by Livemint, say suicide attempts and declining morale have occurred on board. Several Democratic lawmakers have demanded investigations into shortages of food, water and mail, though the Navy disputes an increase in suicide attempts and says priority supplies have been restored.

The George Washington left Da Nang in Vietnam last week, crossed the Singapore Strait, and is now in the Strait of Malacca. It is heading towards the Indian Ocean and is expected to relieve the Lincoln. The move comes as the Navy acknowledges that combat operations disrupted supply routes. The Lincoln's deployment has exceeded 240 days, one of the longest uninterrupted periods for a US carrier, with no clear end date.