Trump Calls Reports of Bad Conditions on Board Carrier “Fake News”
On Monday, August 17, members of San Diego’s congressional delegation expressed their view that an independent investigation into the monthslong deployment of the locally based USS Abraham Lincoln is warranted given all the reports of deplorable conditions and a few suicide attempts on board the carrier. The sailors and marines on board are serving on the longest consecutive stretch at sea without a port call in modern U.S. military history.
U.S. Congressmembers Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, Mike Levin and Sara Jacobs — all Democrats — asked in a letter that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General to “undertake an independent review of the processes, rationale, and decisions surrounding the extended deployment” of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the strike group it is leading. The local congressional members were joined by California U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.
The U-T reported that the carrier — “based out of Naval Air Station North Island, and Carrier Strike Group 3 have been deployed for more than 240 days and at sea for more than 200.”
The lawmakers’ letter asked the Inspector General about “supply shortages on the ship, the sailors’ training and mental health support for the extended deployment, and how the Navy perceives the strike group’s future readiness. The U-T reported:
The elected officials wrote that reports of food shortages, unsanitary conditions and a lack of other essential supplies put service members in “horrific conditions,” while also showing vulnerabilities in the military’s logistics.
In the letter itself, the delegation stated:
“The San Diego military community is a linchpin of our nation’s Pacific strategy, and it will take significant effort to restore morale and capacity after the strike group comes back home. An independent review and recommendations for improvement would identify what happened and provide us with oversight tools to ensure the wellbeing of our constituents and safeguard our Navy.”
The U-T:
The letter to the OIG comes three days after members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as the Democratic leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Defense, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding answers about deteriorating conditions aboard the Lincoln. The San Diego lawmakers sent a similar letter last week.
The strike group left from San Diego on Nov. 21 to patrol the Indo-Pacific, but it diverted to the Middle East, arriving in January to support the U.S. war against Iran through blockades of the country’s ports.
In the last few weeks, the aircraft carrier garnered international attention as stories began to be reported by families of sailors who said the ship was suffering from food shortages, plumbing issues, a lack of supplies and plummeting morale.
The carrier has more than 5,000 sailors and Marines,and was ordered last week to return to San Diego, and the Pacific-based USS George Washington was en route to replace it in the Middle East.
When cornered by the press, Trump made disparaging remarks about the sailors on board the Abe Lincoln, on Friday, calling reports about the bad conditions, “fake CNN news.” He also said he believed the deployment was “not nearly long enough.”
An official return date for the carrier strike group and Lincoln has not been announced, although the trip back to San Diego typically takes about three weeks.
Have you wondered why the USS Lincoln ran out of supplies? Hegseth never told us, but the carrier “faced severe supply strains during its extended combat deployment in the Middle East because Iranian missile and drone attacks heavily damaged Naval Support Activity Bahrain, a critical regional logistics hub. This forced the Navy to shift its resupply base over 2,100 miles away to Diego Garcia, severely disrupting the supply chain.”