USS Abraham Lincoln Under Fire Over Sailor Conditions After 250 Days At Sea

Edited
by:
Louis
Oelofse

US
Defe se
Sec eta y
Pete
Hegseth
has
defe ded
co ditio s
aboa d
the
USS
Ab aham
Li col
ai c aft
ca ie ,
which
has
spe t
a
eco d-b eaki g
umbe
of
days
at
sea
du i g
a
pe iod
of
mo e
tha
eight
mo ths
with
o ly
b ief
stops
at
po ts.

Hegseth
called
ece t
epo ti g
i
two
milita y-focused
outlets
i
the
US,
the

Navy
Times
a d
the

Sta s
a d
St ipes,
“completely
mis ep ese ted.”

The
epo ts
had
quoted
elatives
of
sailo s
ecou ti g
sto ies
of
poo
co ditio s
o
boa d
a d
eve
a
thwa ted
attempt
by
a
c ewmembe
to
th ow
themselves
ove boa d.

What
did
Hegseth
say
about
co ditio s?

The
5,000-pe so
ai c aft
ca ie
left
Sa
Diego
i
Novembe
fo
what
was
scheduled
to
be
a
Pacific
deployme t.

It
was
subseque tly
e outed
to
the
Middle
East
eady
fo
what
the
T ump
White
House
called
Ope atio
Epic
Fu y,
a d
has
bee
i
the
Pe sia
Gulf
o
the
wide
egio
si ce
Ja ua y
amid
the
wa
with
I a .

“We
make
su e
eve y
ship,
eve y
c ew,
eve y
captai
has
eve ythi g
we
ca
p ovide
them
at
eve y
si gle
mome t,”
Hegseth
told
epo te s
du i g
a
visit
to
Pa ama
o
Thu sday.
“Some
deployme ts
a e
lo ge
tha
othe s,
a d
I
have
mo e
espect
a d
g atitude
fo
those
sailo s
tha
a ybody.
What
they
do
i
those
high
seas
i
those
auste e
co ditio s
with
less
po t
calls
—
it’s
i c edible.”

Lo ge
deployme ts
at
sea,
pa ticula ly
i
wa time
with
highe
st ess
a d
da ge
levels
a d
fewe
cha ces
fo
est
a d
ec eatio ,
have
always
bee
a
challe ge
fo
the
US
Navy.

Se ate
calls
fo
i spectio
visit

A
day
ea lie ,
A izo a
Se ato
Rube
Gallego
said
he
was
calli g
fo
a
official
ove sight
visit
to
the
USS
Ab aham
Li col
by
a
bipa tisal
Se ate
Delegatio
to
“i vestigate
the
ala mi g
co ditio s.”

“U like
Do ald
T ump,
I’ve
see
active
duty,”
Gallego
said.
“They
way
he’s
t eati g
ou
se vice
membe s
as
he
ca ies
out
this
illegal
wa
is
ot
just
disgusti g;
it’s
da ge ous.
These
sailo s
a e
owed
a
se se
of
whe
they
will
go
home.”

Gallego
epeated
the
call
o
Thu sday,
sayi g
Co g ess
” eeds
to
do
its
job
a d
hold
this
admi ist atio
accou table.”

Se ato
Richa d
Blume thal
also
called
fo
the
Navy
to
accou t
fo
co ditio s
aboa d
the
ai c aft
ca ie ,
oti g
“widesp ead
epo ts
of
sho tages
of
basic
supplies,
wate
co tami atio ,
plumbi g
issues,
dete io ati g
me tal
health,
deck
safety
co ce s”
a d
othe
p oblems
aboa d
the
Li col .

What
did
the
milita y
media
outlets
epo t?

The

Navy
Times
a d

Sta s
a d
St ipes
have
had
thei
eye
o
the
USS
Ab aham
Li col ‘s
eco d-setti g
deployme t
fo
mo ths
but
both
evisited
the
issue
i
depth
this
week.
This
followed
a
di ect
appeal
late
last
week
by
family
membe s
to
Acti g
Sec eta y
of
the
Navy
Hu g
Cao
a d
othe
se io
officials
i
tow
hall
meeti gs.

The
deployme t
has
i cluded
40
days
of
co ti uous
combat
ope atio s
i
the
US
Fifth
Fleet
a ea
of
ope atio s
a d
250
co secutive
days
at
sea,
i cludi g
a
eco d-b eaki g
umbe
of
days
without
eve
a
po t
stop,
estocki g
supplies
at
sea
a d
by
ai
as
best
as
the
c ew
could.

“We
al eady
had
a
i sta ce
whe e
watchsta de s
had
to
stop
someo e
f om
jumpi g,”
Sta s
a d
St ipes
quoted
o e
sailo
as
sayi g.

It
also
oted
va ious
supply
a d
se vice
issues
affecti g
mo ale,
like
food
atio i g,
wate
sho tages,
a d
a
st etch
of
mo e
tha
a
week
whe
c ew
could
ot
do
lau d y.

It
said
that
ma y
of
these
issues
had
si ce
imp oved,
as
had
mail
delive y
se vices
—
but
eve theless
epo ted
a
situatio
of
dete io ati g
mo ale
whe e,
as
o e
sailo
put
it,
“All
we
wa t
is
a
date
home.”

The
Li col
made
a
b ief
po t
call
i
Oma
i
ea ly
July.

Sta s
a d
St ipes
epo ted,
that
allowed
it
to
stock
up
o
valuable
p oduce
like
f esh
f uit
a d
vegetables,
but
sailo s
we e
o ly
pe mitted
to
disemba k
i to
a
secu e
compou d
withi
the
po t.
The
ship
had
also
b iefly
docked
i
Guam
i
Decembe ,
but
agai
with
limited
sho e
leave.
I
the
i te im
it
spe t
the
lo gest
pe iod
at
sea
without
eve
docki g
i
US
milita y
histo y.

The
Reute s
ews
age cy
o
Thu sday
cited
a
US
official,
who
it
said
was
speaki g
o
co ditio
of
a o ymity,
as
sayi g
that
a othe
ai c aft
ca ie
—
the
USS
Geo ge
Washi gto
—
was
headed
to
the
egio
to
elieve
the
Li col .
The

Wall
St eet
Jou al
i
the
US
ca ied
simila
epo ts
o
Thu sday.
The
ship
depa ted
Viet am
ea lie
this
week.

Hegseth,
T ump
both
i dicate
much
lo ge
deployme t
co ceivable

Whe
asked
about
what
the
US
calls
its
“blockade”
of
I a ‘s
po ts
—
with
the
Li col
a
c ucial
comma d
a d
ai -supe io ity
compo e t
i
the
ope atio
—
Hegseth
said
that
the
US
could
co ti ue
to
e fo ce
it
fo
as
lo g
as
it
wished.

“I defi itely
the
U ited
States
Navy
ca
mai tai
a
blockade
like
that
because
we’ll
otate
ships
i
a d
out,
as
we
have,
a d
we’ll
co ti ue
to,”
he
said.

P eside t
Do ald
T ump
had
claimed
o
Wed esday
that
the
avy
had
“total
co t ol”
of
the
St ait
of
Ho muz
a d
speculated
that
he
might
t y
to
pe ma e tly
police
it.

“The
USA
has
total
co t ol
ove
the
St ait
of
Ho muz.
I
THINK
WE
WILL
KEEP
IT!”
T ump
w ote
o li e.
“Ou
Naval
Blockade
is
bei g
called,
by
eve yo e,
‘A
WALL
OF
STEEL,’
a d
the e
is
othi g
I a
ca
do
about
it.”

The
head
of
I a ‘s
Basij
pa amilita y
u it,
Hossei
Taeb,
o
Thu sday
disputed
T ump’s
assesme t
sayi g
the
St ait
is
“u de
I a ‘s
co t ol
a d
ma ageme t.”

Comme cial
shippi g
—
whethe
bou d
fo
I a ia
po ts
o
fo
Gulf
states,
o
t yi g
to
sail
out
of
the
Gulf
—
has
bee
d astically
educed
i
volume
th oughout
the
co flict,
with
isks
to
comme cial
c ews
of
all
st ipes
f om
both
sides
complicati g
a d
ofte
halti g
jou eys.

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