Published Aug. 18, 2026

The USS Abraham Lincoln is an aircraft carrier for the United States Navy with a long, storied history. The vessel first launched in the late 1980s, and it soon became a crucial asset in operations such as Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and more, including the recent conflict with Iran dubbed Operation Epic Fury. 

While the ship's legendary status was touted on official channels, reports circulated about grim conditions aboard the ship during its latest deployment, which began in November 2025 and was originally supposed to conclude in May 2026, according to the Navy Times. In July, the USS Abraham Lincoln set a new record for consecutive days at sea. 

However, in August, the BBC reported "food shortages, broken plumbing and exhaustion" and attempts by crew members to jump overboard. Concern was so great that Navy officials even met with the families of the deployed service members in a meeting rife with concerns for "the sailors' mental health, safety on deck, a lack of supplies, food shortages, water contamination and disruptions in the mail system," according to MS NOW. 

With the storied aircraft carrier front and center in headlines, we put together this collection of investigations regarding some of these recent claims — as well as a few far-older claims from the Snopes archives that involved some of the vessel's previous deployments.  

By Joey Esposito

Joey Esposito has written for a variety of entertainment publications. He's into music, video games ... and birds.