RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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As fighter jets launch air strikes on Iran from the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, now operating in the Middle East, military families are reporting to MS NOW that the carrier’s 5,000 crew members are suffering through supply shortages.
“Food obviously has been scarce,” said Nicole Conrad, whose son is a sailor on the carrier. “He’s told me there was a time where he was only eating half a cup of rice and two tortillas.”
Families say their loved ones are also dealing with long periods with no hot water for showering, laundry service that’s down for weeks and standing in line at the ship’s store for more than an hour. Only to find there aren’t basic supplies like toothpaste, soap and deodorant.
“I know there’s Army guys that are like, look, I slept in a hole that was muddy underneath the tank and I ate MREs (meals ready-to-eat). But you didn’t do that for nine straight months,” said Navy veteran Brett Snow, who’s the father of another sailor on the carrier.
The shortages are happening as USS Lincoln has set a naval record of the most continuous days at sea. More than 200 and counting, with only two short port calls in the nine-month deployment.
Carrier flight decks are inherently dangerous because of fighter jets taking off and landing.
Combine that with service members reportedly working 12- to 16-hour shifts, sometimes with no days off, and their deployment extended for a second time, even veterans say that’s enough to spark safety concerns.
“Sure, that’s the mission, you do the mission,” Snow said. “But I think this is abnormal and I think, you know, carrier deployments are getting longer and if this trend continues, it’s going to impact retention and it’s going to impact operational safety.”
While parents say their loved ones understand the mission and are committed to completing it, they want to make sure that while there’s talk about restoring weapon stockpiles , there’s also talk about stockpiling basic supplies for service members and bringing them home.
“I think we should be able to resupply,” said Bonnie York, the mother of a sailor aboard the USS Lincoln. “I think we should be able to switch out our troops so that they at least get a break.”
“It’s our government that’s not helping the morale,” Conrad added. “I think the ship is doing what they can do with what they’re given. But I think our government needs to be doing more for our military, that’s sitting over there.”
Cmdr. Joseph Hontz, the spokesperson for the Navy’s 5th Fleet, acknowledged to MS NOW that the Lincoln’s deck has endured more than 10,000 aircraft “sorties” over the past eight months, but he said there are no holes in the flight deck and the crew has been able to repair the expected wear and tear when needed.
“Though more than 250 days on deployment is challenging for the crew and their equipment, they remain resilient and ready to accomplish any task given to them,” Hontz said. “The ship remains fully capable of meeting all mission tasking.”
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