US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns raised by families of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as the aircraft carrier nears nine months of deployment in the Middle East, despite reports of difficult conditions on board.
“That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump added. When asked if the deployment had lasted too long, he said it was “not nearly long enough.” Asked by reporters on Friday whether families were worried about the prolonged deployment, Trump said, “No, they’re not.
In a social media statement, Cao acknowledged disruptions during the deployment, including changes to meal plans and restrictions on calls home. “There is no question our young men and women have been pushed to their limits—but they have never broken.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is expected to return to the US “soon as part of a planned rotation,” acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said on Friday. He also referred to a “small number of mental health cases”. They are rightly tired — but have never been out of the fight,” Cao said. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, appearing on Fox News on Friday, said, “this president cares about our United States military service members, our troops, more than everybody,” despite Trump’s earlier remarks
Democrats in Congress called for answers earlier this week over the extended deployment and conditions faced by personnel aboard the carrier.
