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Extended deployments without port calls apply compounding stress to naval crews, and the number of personnel seeking mental health care is one of the clearest measures of how a command is managing that load.
Brad Cooper invoked that metric Sunday to counter mounting allegations about conditions aboard USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for more than 260 days supporting operations tied to the ongoing war with Iran.
According to Cooper, the Lincoln now carries one of the lowest mental health caseloads among the Navy's 11 active aircraft carriers.
Cooper stated his case in a post on X and in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, crediting the ship's senior enlisted leaders in the Chief Petty Officers Mess for treating mental health as a command priority alongside physical and spiritual health.
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