Sailors’ families reported food shortages, disrupted mail, worsening mental health
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Pentagon for answers about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln ahead of the carrier’s planned port call in Thailand next week, a visit a Thai official said Tuesday is intended to give the crew “rest and recreation after their long sea journey.”
The carrier left the Middle East on Saturday after serving in the conflict with Iran and has gone more than 200 days without a port call — a stretch that Democrats say sets a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea. The Lincoln carries roughly 5,000 sailors and marines.
The Thai official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the visit would allow the crew to recuperate. A Thai Navy spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Families of crew members told the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes military newspapers about conditions aboard the ship during the deployment, describing food and water shortages, disrupted mail services, plumbing problems, low morale and worsening mental health.
In an interview last week with the Guardian, the wife of a Lincoln sailor said she has noticed a change in her husband’s messages as the deployment has stretched on.
“There’s less hope in the way he talks and less positive things that he has to say,” she said. “He’s just exhausted. It’s a long, long deployment and it takes a toll.”
The reports prompted Democratic lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon about conditions aboard the carrier and about the decision to keep the Lincoln deployed for what Democrats describe as a record-length period at sea.