A sailor aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln is so worn down, when his mom asks how he's doing he tells her, "Just get me a gun and a bullet."
The sailor's mother, Danielle, joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us morale aboard the carrier has plummeted during its extended deployment in the Middle East.
Danielle says her son recently finished a 16-hour shift and sent her a photo of his meal -- one lonely pile of slop resembling dog food. He sarcastically called it "great" before heading off to pull another six hours of watch.
U.S. Central Command is trying to steady the ship after a wave of bad press over conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln ... praising the crew and pointing to comparatively low numbers of mental health cases.
CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper says his recent visit aboard the carrier was "awe-inspiring" ... adding Americans would be proud to see the crew's camaraderie, teamwork and resilience firsthand.
Cooper says that among the Navy's 11 active aircraft carriers, the Lincoln currently has one of the lowest numbers of mental health-related cases.
Donald Trump doesn't think sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have been stuck at sea too long ... in fact, he says their nearly 9-month deployment hasn't been long enough.
POTUS was asked by reporters Friday at Joint Base Andrews about families raising concerns over sailors' mental health and living conditions aboard the aircraft carrier ... and he quickly dismissed the concerns.
When asked whether 8-plus months at sea was too long, Trump responded, "No, no, no. Not nearly long enough" ... then abruptly turned and boarded Air Force One.
Life aboard some U.S. warships doesn't sound like smooth sailing ... with sailors and their families sounding off about alleged broken toilets, undercooked food and marathon stretches at sea.
The complaints come as families of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln raise concerns over conditions during its lengthy deployment in the Middle East ... with publicly shared messages describing shortages, plumbing problems and trouble getting mail.
Journalist Aaron Parnas says his inbox is now flooded with messages from people who have family members aboard the Lincoln ... and he posted images of one note claiming sailors have no "workable toilets around us," are being served "undercooked chicken" and aren't getting mail regularly.
