CENTCOM chief breaks silence on mental health issues among USS Abraham Lincoln after Democrats’ outrage

US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Brad Cooper on Sunday (Aug 16) broke his silence on reports claiming mental health issues of service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and said that the carrier has the lowest number of cases compared to Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers. In a statement, Cooper said that he visited USS Abraham Lincoln during his trip to West Asia and described it as “awe-inspiring", adding that Americans would “beam with pride” over the work carried out while onboard. Acknowleding the previous reports in a way, Cooper called it “challenging and tough” for all service members, and that even he “reacts to stressors in different ways.”

Also Read: 'Toilets out of service': USS Abraham Lincoln to return after 250 days

“Here’s an important fact: Of the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers, the Lincoln currently has among the lowest number of cases related to mental health. This doesn’t mean that all is perfect. Find any of the nearly 4 million Navy veterans in America today and they will likely tell you that service at sea for long periods isn’t for everyone.” He added, “I’ve long believed that mental health is another aspect of individual health and requires our attention just like physical health and spiritual health,” he continued. “I applaud Lincoln’s leadership –– the senior enlisted leaders in the Chief Petty Officers Mess in particular –– for stepping up and making mental health and crew resilience a leadership priority.”

Democrats' concern

This comes after recent reports about the Lincoln prompted congressional Democrats to launch inquiries into themental and physical states of crew members along withthe federal government’s response. Ruben Gallego, a Democratic senator from Arizona, blamed the pressures mounting on sailors on President Trump’s unresolved war. “I was just speaking to a [USS Lincoln crew member’s] spouse just about three days ago, and this is the current problem right now,” Gallego, a retired US marine, told ABC News. “The deep, deep, deep problem here is that this administration did not plan for this war, did not plan how to get out of this war [and] did not really understand how this war was going to escalate.”

CENTCOM attempted to bury mental health concerns despite

On Aug 14, after the reports came out, the US CENTCOM attempted to call them fake. In a post on X, it said, “The Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea, 10,000 aircraft flights, and 1.5 million pounds of ordnance expended. No service members aboard the aircraft carrier have died, and the one Sailor who fell overboard Aug. 3 was quickly and safely recovered. The rampant misreporting on Abraham Lincoln's historic deployment is a disservice to our men and women in uniform and their loved ones.” When the matter refused to die down with more and more sailor's kin speaking up, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced that the ship was returning home. The Lincoln’s deployment, that started in January this year, was initially intended to end in May before it was extended to its current tenure.

Also Read: US top commander visits USS Lincoln amid Iran war

What were the reports about USS Abraham Lincoln

A report by CNN claimed that sailors attempted to jump off the carrier amid severe mental health issues. It cited sailors and their families saying that toilets and water fountains had frequently been out of service, and that hot water was often unavailable. A sailor told CNN that everyday they are “desperately hoping and anxious for updates on our return.” Another sailor said that some items from the ship’s store had become subject to limits and that “hardly any hygiene products are readily available.”

However, US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over the prolonged deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying its more than eight-month mission at sea was “not nearly long enough”. When he was asked if the deployment had gone on too long, Trump said, “No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.” “That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump said, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.