The father of a 20-year-old sailor aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln has criticised President Donald Trump’s war with Iran as a “forever war” and offered to take his son’s place as the aircraft carrier’s deployment stretches beyond 265 days. Jefferson Kelly, from Cincinnati, Ohio, told Newsweek that his son joined the US Navy enthusiastically, hoping to serve his country and become an engineer.

But Kelly said the carrier’s deployment to the Middle East had fulfilled a fear he developed after Trump’s return to the White House. “I had a feeling that there’s going to be a forever war,” he said. “If there’s going to be any issue, any kind of major engagement or war, they send the aircraft carriers… And that’s exactly what happened.”

The USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego on 21 November 2025 for a deployment initially focused on the Indo-Pacific. It was redirected to the Middle East in January as the US built up forces ahead of joint attacks with Israel against Iran on 28 February.

The carrier and its air wing subsequently supported Operation Epic Fury and the US blockade of Iranian ports.

The deployment has now lasted close to nine months, with about 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard. Families have raised concerns about shortages, plumbing problems, disrupted mail, exhaustion and mental health.

Ashley Rogers, the wife of a higher-ranking officer aboard the carrier, also voiced concers, according to a report by Newsweek. She said families had tried to send care packages after reports of supplies running low and food deteriorating in the spring. “Well, the care package took 2.5 months to get there. So that was concerning,” she said. “Now the most recent communications, even with my husband, who snaps into military mode, he just does his job, even he sounds so just defeated, and he has a really hard time getting his guys to cooperate and do their jobs.”

Rogers said sailors had been short of basic supplies including sanitary products, razors and soap, while resupply efforts had been slow.

Retired Vice Admiral Robert Murrett previously told Newsweek that deployments of this length place “a great deal of pressure on the ship and its crew”, with potential longer-term consequences for personnel, maintenance and future deployment schedules.

Family members have also reported that several sailors attempted or prepared to go overboard. The Navy has said it has not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.

It has acknowledged that the carrier has been operating in a “highly contested environment”, where normal supply hubs have been disrupted.

A sailor who went overboard in early August was safely recovered. The circumstances are under investigation.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has described reports about conditions aboard the Lincoln as “completely misrepresented”.

The Navy has said sailors have access to clean water and healthy meals, and that food was prioritised when combat operations disrupted traditional supply chains, followed by hygiene products and mail.

President Trump appeared to dismiss concerns about the length of the deployment on Friday, saying it had not lasted long enough.

Kelly stressed that his concerns were not prompted by complaints from his son. “He has not said anything to me about this,” he said. “He has not reached out to me. He has not asked me to talk to anyone about it, nothing. This is completely 100 percent my doing and my initiative.”

Kelly said his conversations with his son had remained deliberately broad, focusing on his duties, what he had learned and ordinary family matters.

He said he was reluctant to ask questions that his son might feel unable to answer or that could put him in a difficult position. “You have someone that’s literally right there on the Lincoln that you can talk to broadly and generally about your day,” he said. “Then on the other side, you’ve got media that’s reporting on these horrible conditions. And then you’ve got someone there firsthand that you feel like you can’t ask about it.”

Rogers said the situation had been particularly difficult for her.

“Here I am nine months single parenting with my husband gone and worried about him being in a war zone, and constantly wondering if the next news alert on my phone is going to be something devastating,” she said. “You have to put all that aside and try to be strong for them and make sure that they’re doing okay, because they’re not going to be able to carry the weight of everything they have going on, and everything else also going on at home.”

The US and Israel launched coordinated attacks against Iran on 28 February, beginning a conflict the Trump administration said was intended to eliminate threats posed by the Iranian government. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks against US-linked and allied targets across the Middle East.

Trump said in March that the conflict was already nearing its conclusion, telling CBS News that it was “very complete, pretty much”.

Fighting, ceasefires and renewed military operations continued in the following months.

Kelly said Trump’s repeated declarations of military success had made the Lincoln’s continued deployment difficult for families to understand. “I think we’ve won this war 42 or 43 times now, and I’m hoping that the next win we can get one of these carriers switched out before we start bombing again,” he said. “If Iran’s military has been thoroughly destroyed several times like it has been, well, who’s shooting back when we keep attacking?” Kelly asked. “Bring these kids home. Why are they still out there?”