Seven US Navy personnel have reportedly been killed and several others wounded in a violent clash aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as growing unrest among the carrier’s crew has exposed mounting pressure inside the US military amid a prolonged deployment.
The incident erupted after an adviser to US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper boarded the carrier to address mounting complaints from crew members following protests by their families over the ship’s prolonged deployment, according to Tasnim News Agency, citing an informed military source.
The adviser was reportedly met with boos and had water bottles thrown at him while addressing a gathering of personnel.
The confrontation subsequently escalated into a fight among crew members involving knives and other bladed weapons, leaving seven personnel dead and several others wounded, according to the source.
The atmosphere aboard the carrier remains tense and unsettled, Tasnim reported.
The Abraham Lincoln has been deployed for 263 days and is currently operating in the Indian Ocean, where its primary mission is to enforce an illegal naval blockade against Iran.
The carrier has spent 208 consecutive days at sea, the longest continuous deployment of any US aircraft carrier in the modern era, apart from a brief stop in Oman in July.
The reported violence comes amid growing concerns over the living and working conditions facing the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the carrier.
Personnel have reportedly protested inadequate food supplies, with meals reduced to as little as half a cup of rice and two pieces of meat. The carrier’s laundry facilities have also been out of service for two weeks, while mold in shower areas has caused fungal infections among crew members.
Military families have raised concerns about exhaustion, mental health and the impact of the prolonged operational tempo on the crew’s ability to safely perform their duties.
At a meeting in San Diego on Thursday, around 200 relatives confronted acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao over conditions aboard the carrier and the lack of a clear date for the crew’s return home.
The reported deaths aboard the Abraham Lincoln follow another serious incident involving the USS Gerald R. Ford. On March 12, 2026, a fire broke out in living quarters housing around 600 crew members, leaving 200 personnel injured.
The Gerald R. Ford subsequently took the injured to a naval facility on the Greek island of Crete before being forced to return to the United States.
being deployed to fight against foreigners in a war you didn’t ask
always fearing to die by iranian missiles
die by a knife wound on board in hands of a crew member of your own country
ironic
This part:
Personnel have reportedly protested inadequate food supplies, with meals reduced to as little as half a cup of rice and two pieces of meat. The carrier’s laundry facilities have also been out of service for two weeks, while mold in shower areas has caused fungal infections among crew members.
Explains the violence. It’s kinda stunning to me. It feels like it shouldn’t surprise me, considering how the US tends to behave, historically. But like, this is a level of unsustainable that is so evident, you can see it from space and they’re just… they send a guy to go address the complaints with words??? Does the US have anyone left in charge who can think past the next financial quarter? Or are they all cowed by Trump and because he can’t think past the next happy meal, they just have to shovel his unsustainable whims?
I guess I am still learning what imperial “decline” means, as an existing phenomenon.
Late Roman empire legionnaires were routinely abandoned in their garrisons, the increasingly dysfunctional Roman state unable to pay or continue organizing the logistics to supply them.
Are you aware of the march of Rome by the general Sulla?
Sure. Not sure it’s comparable though. The late Republic had political issues, but militarily and economically it was still pretty functional, and the social contract had not broken down yet. I’m talking late Empire, 3rd, 4th, 5th centuries.
It’s genuinely unbelievable that the US military could fail at something as basic as “feed your troops” we’re supposed to have a supply chain that’s supposed to be able to handle this kind of stuff but I guess that’s been whittled away to nothing by enshittification just like everything else.
Also US Navy literally charge the sailors for food on deployments.
“Who rip off their soldiers on necissities,
gets the toilet clogged, laundry burned and deadly knifefightswins the wars”- Sun Tzu (attributed)
Holy shit, that is astonishing. The article even points out that the Army, the largest branch, does not charge soldiers for food
this is the same navy that once had https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream_barge to keep up morale, cos they still had people who were able to think like a soldier…
Join the Navy and become a warfighter. Eat too little food. Catch an infection from the showers. Wear stinking rags. Sleep in a filthy cot. Never, ever relax as your crewmates become more and more volatile and you continue to float near an enemy you cannot defeat.
Under the diligent leadership of Hegseth, the US navy has become a great source of envy for penitentiaries across the American deep south
Sounds like a post-apocalyptic fantasy scenario. Like you can picture characters from The Walking Dead in the situation that article’s describing.
Wow, this seems like a step on the way toward mutiny. Maybe it’s wishful thinking but if they’re willing to use violence, it’s only a matter of number of sailors willing to use it before it becomes a real threat.
honestly it’s a testament to the hogs’ docility that they haven’t revolted already. barely any food + moldy living quarters ought to be catastrophic for the military. but i guess it’s easy to say that from here.
volunteer military and they spend months brainwashing you into not doing that shit. part of why the brass doesn’t want conscription is that conscripts will fuck shit up way sooner
Fragging your commanding officer is basically a non-issue compared to how it was in Vietnam
7 dead from a confrontation is a huge scandal
It’s insane lol, they’ve been trying hard to dress the casualties in the war always end up with just 2-3 deaths but a brawl in their ship just had 7? lmao
“A fight among crew.”
They told the lapdogs to kill some of the complainers to set an example, and labeled it as a brawl. (imo)
The people in charge literally executed the soldiers and said there was just a fight.
What if they’re extending their deployment so that those onboard don’t flee the navy and start ratting out the awesome working conditions?
a ship of damned souls, doomed to roam the sea forever. a new ghost ship legend is born.
Only a matter of time before the crew recites the shahada and asks Iran for asylum.
Keep the good news coming
We go now to Hung Cao for commentary on the shipboard menu:
“What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. Those are young men and women that are gonna win wars.”
holy shit that is awesome… let them cook!
USS Lincoln in its Potemkin Era
love to see it
Absolutely wild shit, those people are not happy.
Tehran syndrome raygun doing Allah’s work, Subhanallah.
how did the iranian press discover this?
according to Tasnim News Agency, citing an informed military source.
