Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao denied media reports of mental health and living condition concerns aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. He said the reports were inaccurate and harmed service members. He said the carrier has completed 266 days of deployment in the Arabian Sea supporting operations against Iran and enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports, with few port calls because nearby locations such as Bahrain are within range of Iranian missile and drone attacks. Reports emerged from town hall meetings where families raised concerns about food, water, mail service and the risk of self‑harm; a sailor was stopped from jumping overboard months earlier, and another sailor fell overboard in early August and was rescued. Cao said a small number of mental health cases were treated without loss of life, meal plans were adjusted when fresh supplies were unavailable but no meals were missed, and communications home were limited when operational threats were high. He emphasized that retention rates remain high and that the crew has been pushed to their limits but has not broken, noting that sailors and marines are expected to endure the deployment. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the reports were misrepresented, while Representative Marlin Stutzman, a Republican from Indiana, announced he would request a Pentagon report on conditions and care plans. President Donald Trump dismissed the concerns, stating the carrier had not been deployed long enough. The USS George Washington is scheduled to relieve Lincoln, which will soon return home as part of a planned rotation; the ship was photographed transiting the Singapore Strait with the cruiser USS Robert Smalls and the destroyer USS Shoup. The situation remains under review as lawmakers call for further investigation into conditions aboard the carrier.