US Navy Families Sound Alarm Over USS Abraham Lincoln’s Long Deployment And Poor Living Conditions

Washington: China's most famous general, Sun Tzu, wrote in his book, "The Art of War," that prolonged deployment of troops on a single front is detrimental to the country. It drains government resources and dampens the military's morale. The war between Iran and the United States is nearing six months. Even though the war has stopped, Trump's military deployments continue without a final decision. This is why all is not well within the US Defense Forces. Now, questions are being raised openly about the condition of thousands of soldiers deployed on the USS Lincoln, one of the US Navy's largest warships. The long deployment, poor conditions, and psychological pressure amid the Iran war have created a situation where the families of the soldiers are coming forward and demanding answers from the Navy.

What is the duration of deployment?

The USS Lincoln departed San Diego, USA, on November 21 and has been deployed for 259 days. During this period, the ship made only two stops, including a brief visit to Oman on July 7. Most shockingly, the 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the ship spent 208 days at sea continuously. This statistic has now become the source of much controversy.

According to reports, on Thursday, nearly 200 families directly questioned Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao in San Diego. This is considered unusual, as military families typically do not openly protest in public. The families raised issues such as fatigue, mental health, food shortages, water quality, broken bathrooms, security, and delayed mail delivery.

How are the circumstances?

According to reports, problems on the ship include broken toilets, potential foul water, and mold in the Issues on the vessel reported also include toilets that did not work and possibly foul water with mildew in some shower rooms, officials said. Clogs in one spot, they added, was responsible for clogging the toilets on the ship and there may be mold on one surface indicating ventilation leaks. The ship’s poor supply chain continued to affect food, personal grooming and mail delivery too. Supply chain issues on the ship through Bahrain had been exceptionally bad following the start of the fighting, said Vice Admiral Douglas Verissimo. “The system eventually improved to where we are today but not perfectly yet and the system was exceedingly bad for some period there.”

When will this deployment be over? 

The more significant question may not be when it started or if people are suffering due to lack of adequate hygiene and food, but rather when the deployment will begin to be winding down and ship and its crew sent home. According to Navy officials, planning is in the works to dispatch another Carrier Strike Group, that of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, to the region - potentially redeploying the USS Lincoln - but no departure date has been released and the Navy declined to provide details with spokeswoman cited, as always, national “operational security.”