US Central Command denies reports of deaths and suicides on USS Abraham Lincoln

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected media reports of deaths and suicides aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed in the Middle East. In a statement on X, the command said claims circulated in the past 48 hours that seven sailors had died on the ship did not reflect the truth. CENTCOM said the Abraham Lincoln has been at sea for 260 days but recorded a crew rotation rate of 84.4 percent, the highest among all U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. The carrier strike group's sailors and Marines have spent more than 260 days at sea, carried out 10,000 flight missions and expended 1.5 million pounds of munitions, according to the command. Recent media reports had alleged that seven sailors were killed in a fight aboard the ship and that suicide ideation had risen among the crew. No further details on the underlying reports were immediately available from U.S. officials.