Capt. Daniel Keeler said the closest the crew came to conditions described in reports over the summer was during combat operations in March and April. The carrier strike group was then operating off Iran in support of Operation Epic Fury, which complicated resupply.
“Almost all of those things occurred, I would say, in March — March and April — while we were engaged in active combat operations against a very determined foe,” Keeler said. “At the time, we did — I think — a very good job explaining to the crew why we were going to be maybe running a little bit thin on some supplies for a while.”
Keeler said the carrier had the supplies needed for combat and never missed a mission. He also said the ship had enough food and continued serving four meals a day to the crew.
Asked about plumbing problems, Keeler described service interruptions as part of operating a large aircraft carrier. He said trained sailors repaired faults when they occurred.
“And I would say, in my experience, everything that we went through is in the normal spectrum of what you might expect and see on an aircraft carrier, and it’s even more remarkable because that
was in combat,” he said. His comments addressed reports concerning food, potable water and functioning plumbing aboard the ship.
Rear Adm. Robert E. Loughran, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3, said Operation Epic Fury provided lessons in supplying deployed forces in regions such as the Middle East. He described a shift toward delivering supplies directly to those forces rather than ordering them for individual ships as needed.
“I’ll tell you that what was impressive about this, was that we pivoted when we kicked off combat to a much more extended supply chain, and not only were we extending our supply lines, but we were increasing rapidly the number of forces in theater — and every single ship that was deployed over there met mission while we were continuing to adjust our game plan for how we provide
logistics,” Loughran said. The Lincoln belongs to his strike group.
The carrier departed on November 21, 2025, and returned one day after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth flew aboard to thank its crew and strike group for their operations. “I draw inspiration from the mission that you executed so successfully,” Hegseth told them.
Source: U.S. Department of War.
