Supply shortages and extended deployment strain crew of USS Abraham Lincoln

The Amazon deliveries stopped reaching the USS Abraham Lincoln in February as it entered the conflict zone with Iran. A few weeks later – much to the chagrin of the sailors on board – even that most American of meals, the hamburger, was compromised by supply shortages when burger buns ran out.

“I lost a lot of weight on board,” said one young sailor, who was not authorised to speak to the media. “But I’m putting it back on here. We’re just eating and drinking as much as we can.”

The Lincoln, whose fighter jet squadrons have launched strikes on Iran, has spent a record time at sea, with complaints over food shortages and even the crew’s mental health reaching American media.

The length of its deployment without shore leave has stirred fierce debate over the White House’s treatment of its service personnel during the war on Iran.

It is a conflict, fought alongside Israel, that was meant to take a few days or weeks but is now in its seventh month as Tehran fights to a stalemate.