Overview
- The carrier left San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025 and was redirected from the Pacific to the Middle East, where it has logged roughly 250 consecutive days at sea and about five months of combat operations.
- Families and reporting say the crew had almost no shore time, with only brief port calls in Guam in December 2025 and Oman in July 2026.
- Relatives and lawmakers describe specific habitability failures aboard the ship, including moldy showers, broken toilets, weeks-long laundry outages, long stretches without hot water, reduced meal portions, and shortages of soap, toothpaste and deodorant.
- Recent coverage by Navy Times and Stars and Stripes alleges several incidents in which sailors tried to jump overboard and one family reported a sailor texted that he hoped not to wake up the next day.
- About 200 relatives confronted Navy officials, including Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, in San Diego and members of Congress are seeking answers as the Navy previously disputed earlier supply and habitability reports, which could lead to formal inquiries or policy changes on deployment lengths and mental-health support.