USS George Washington arrives in Middle East to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln

USS George Washington arrived in the U.S. Central Command theater on Wednesday and is transiting the Arabian Sea, the combatant command said Thursday.

Washington will relieve USS Abraham Lincoln as part of a regularly scheduled deployment. The change comes amid reports that sailors aboard Lincoln have struggled with the strain of a lengthy deployment.

Stars and Stripes reported accounts from sailors and family members describing declining morale, suicidal thoughts and an incident in which a sailor was prevented from jumping overboard. Military Times subsequently reported additional overboard attempts.

Family members of Lincoln sailors pressed the Pentagon to bring the carrier back to its San Diego homeport.

Lincoln deployed in November and was sent to the Middle East in January ahead of the U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran. The carrier took part in the bombing campaign and blockade of Iranian ports.

The ship has been deployed for more than 250 days and has gone without a port call for more than 200 days. Aircraft carrier crew members normally get port visits every 30 to 45 days, though operational needs can disrupt those plans.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously said reports of bad conditions aboard the Lincoln were “completely misrepresented.”

President Donald Trump last week downplayed the toll on sailors.

Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland last Friday, Trump refuted that family members have raised concerns about the deployment’s length and even said that the deployment is “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 when asked about the lengthy deployment. The acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said Friday that Lincoln “will return home soon.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, acknowledged in an op-ed published Sunday in The Wall Street Journal that there were problems but that they have been addressed.

“Issues related to food, hot water, or other concerns happened months ago and were addressed by leadership and resolved,” Cooper wrote.

Washington has been operating in the South China Sea and recently finished a port call in Da Nang, Vietnam.

George Washington, the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, is based in Japan. The move leaves no U.S. aircraft carrier strike group west of San Diego.