Below we've detailed the immense strain placed on the long-deployed USS Lincoln aircraft carrier, which has been the main floating naval hub of operations amid the Iran war. The past weeks have seen growing US media coverage of the immense strain placed on the some 5000-member crew, and given the typical port calls have been nearly absent for the extended deployment and operation. But on Thursday the Wall Street Journal is reporting than an urgent relief operation is in the works, as the USS George Washington is being rapidly prepared to take over operations in the region:
The U.S. is preparing to send the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln as part of a previously scheduled rotation plan, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The Lincoln has undergone an extended deployment with few port calls, prompting lawmakers to raise concerns about living conditions aboard the ship.
The Lincoln began a scheduled deployment in November and was redirected to the Middle East in January ahead of the U.S. war against Iran. The carrier and its embarked aircraft were instrumental to the U.S.’s Operation Epic Fury bombing campaign, and the ship has since participated in the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
The high tempo of operations and the strain o
