Hegseth rejects Lincoln strain accounts as ‘completely misrepresented’
The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group, lost power on July 24, 2026, in the South China Sea and drifted for four days before being towed to Subic Bay, Philippines, according to USNI News, citing a U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesperson. A spokesperson for the Seventh Fleet attributed the failure to “an engineering casualty involving its generators.” Power was restored on July 30, two days after the 10,000-ton destroyer was taken under tow, with no injuries reported among the crew.
According to a statement from Commander Matthew Comer to USNI News, the loss of power left Benfold sailors without galley services, toilets, or air conditioning. The USS Robert Smalls, the cruiser attached to the strike group, helped provide meals for the Benfold crew. Comer said the crew “demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism and unwavering steadiness in their response.”
The Benfold incident comes amid broader reports of strain aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed more than 200 days without a port call, according to the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes. Both outlets reported multiple attempts by Lincoln sailors to jump overboard. The Lincoln originally deployed to the Indo-Pacific before being ordered to sail to the Middle East in January, and the George Washington strike group was headed to the Middle East on Monday to relieve the carrier.
President Trump said Sunday that he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the annual joint military exercises with South Korea.
Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and retired Marine, said on ABC News on Sunday that the problems arose from the war with Iran that the Trump administration started in February but has not been able to resolve. “The deep, deep, deep problem here is that this administration did not plan for this war, did not plan how to get out of this war, and did not really understand how this war was going to escalate,” Gallego said.
Hegseth has rejected the accounts, calling them “completely misrepresented” in an interview with Newsmax. “We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth said, adding that sailors in “austere conditions with less port calls” were doing “incredible” work.
The Navy said in a statement obtained by Task & Purpose that “based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship.” Navy officials added: “We know that extended deployments place a significant strain on our service members and their families, and we are grateful for the resilience and sacrifices they make in support of our nation’s security.”
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, addressed the Lincoln directly in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Sunday, writing that he had been onboard the carrier in the Arabian Gulf a day earlier. Cooper said he had made the trip to “see how its 4,000-plus service members are doing and thank them for their extraordinary resilience in the face of constant pressure,” calling it “an amazing visit.” He acknowledged the media reports on the ship’s “operational tempo, crew morale and the realities facing our deployed forces” and said many elements of those stories were “old news.”
“The crew is tired, but they continue to fire on all cylinders,” Cooper wrote. “History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era.” In a post on X on Monday, Cooper said that of the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers, the Lincoln has among the lowest number of cases related to mental health. “This doesn’t mean all is perfect,” Cooper added. “It’s uniquely challenging and tough, and every single one of us, including me, reacts to stressors in different ways.”
The Guardian on Sunday reported on families who have had loved ones deployed for months on U.S. warships amid the war with Iran and were furious with the Trump administration’s dismissal of their concerns. The sister of one Lincoln crew member said: “It’s a feeling of betrayal. These are frustrating, false and careless comments, and they are going to have a lot of consequences for my brother.”