Carrier heads toward Mideast amid reports of issues aboard USS

The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington is heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.

The Lincoln has been supporting the US war against Iran, and its deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 260 days.

Several Democratic lawmakers are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier.

Extended deployments of carriers during the Iran conflict have raised concerns about the impact on service members who are away from home for long periods as well as the increasing strain on the ship and its equipment.

The US Navy conceded that the conflict created a "highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions."

That, in turn, led to shortages and loss of mail aboard the aircraft carrier, the Navy said in a statement.

However, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said reports of a mental health crisis and bad conditions on board were "completely misrepresented."

He also said the US can maintain the blockade "indefinitely."

Former US Navy personnel gave CNN their views on the situation.

Retired US Navy Captain ARMEN KURDIAN: "It's not uncommon that a strike group experiences someone trying to jump overboard or somebody wanting to commit suicide during a deployment. It doesn't happen everyday, obviously, but it does happen."

US Navy Service Member BRIAN SCHOENBORN: "First deployment is about 8.5 months. We didn't have Wi-Fiat first right? Second deployment, we got Wi-Fi, but no ports, and this one's been kind of the same. Each deployment, like I said, uh, different challenges."

The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, a Navy statement said.

The carrier, along with a cruiser and a destroyer, have since been spotted crossing the Singapore Strait.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the Washington would replace the Lincoln as one of the two aircraft carriers now stationed in the Middle East.

The move would leave the waters of the Pacific without a US carrier presence for an unknown period of time.

The Trump administration sees China, the dominant power in the region, as "a settled force" that only needs to be deterred from dominating the US or its allies and not the top global adversary that it was under the Biden administration.