Congress should oversee USS Lincoln conditions, says Rep. Don Bacon

Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska stated Sunday that Congress must conduct oversight into the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The aircraft carrier is being replaced after an extended deployment of nearly nine months, during which concerns have surfaced regarding supply shortages and mental health issues among the crew.

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We should have oversight.

"We should have oversight," Bacon said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." He called for testimony from top Navy officials to address the issues. The USS George Washington is set to replace the Lincoln in the Middle East, according to a U.S. official.

Media reports have cited family members expressing worries about sailors contemplating jumping overboard due to the prolonged deployment. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao acknowledged "a small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life" but stated the Lincoln "will return home soon as part of a planned rotation."

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The Lincoln "will return home soon as part of a planned rotation." A "small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life."

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal had previously urged the Navy to account for the ship's conditions, noting it had been deployed for over 250 days and at sea for more than 200 consecutive days, setting a record. Bacon, a retired Air Force Brigadier General, drew parallels to his own service, recalling instances of suicides during naval deployments in 1996, emphasizing that such tragic events, while terrible, have occurred previously.

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So these incidences, they're terrible, they're sad, but it has happened previously and unfortunately, likely in the future as well.