USS George Washington deployed to the Middle East

(NBC, KYMA) - The USS George Washington is expected to deploy to the CENTCOM area of responsibility in the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for approximately nine months.

U.S. military leaders are privately raising concerns inside the Pentagon and the White House about low morale and widespread fatigue among American service members, who've been deployed for months to support the war with Iran, according to two U.S. officials.

Amid the concerns, the Pentagon plans to replace one of two aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East, the USS Lincoln, according to a third U.S. Official.

There have been growing complaints from service members and their families about the deteriorating living conditions for the more than 50,000 troops deployed to support the war.

Particularly, the sailors and marines who are stationed on aircraft carriers in the Middle East, according to the U.S. officials.

Some of them have been at sea for more than nine months, with no end to their deployments in sight.

A typical deployment for a carrier is roughly six to seven months and includes regular stops at ports to refresh and replenish food supplies.

For the 5,000 sailors and marines on the Lincoln the circumstances have become particularly acute, according to the U.S. officials.

Replacing an aircraft carrier takes several weeks to complete, as the new and departing ships typically overlap for some time before the swap is completed.

The Lincoln then needs to travel back to its home base in San Diego, a trip that would take at least two weeks.

As morale sinks, injuries among troops are only growing, according to new data from the Pentagon this week.

Uncertainty about when the war and the troop deployments might end has brought additional stress to service members and their families.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that reports about poor conditions aboard aircraft carrier the Lincoln were completely misrepresented.