Complaints of food shortages, no soap on US aircraft carrier in Middle East
Families of sailors aboard a massive US aircraft carrier have berated the Secretary of the Navy amid claims the ship is beset by food and soap shortages, unsafe work conditions and mouldy showers.
The USS Abraham Lincoln has been deployed near the Persian Gulf for more than 250 days with only one brief port call.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been in a combat zone for five months. U.S. Navy
After five months of combat operations against Iran, morale on board is at concerning lows, MS NOW reports.
Families have said they have been told of a shortage of soap, toothpaste and food.
Sailors are working long shifts in difficult conditions.
Navy Secretary Hung Cao was confronted by angry families at an event in San Diego.
But Commander Joseph Hontz told MS NOW the crew remains resilient and the ship is fully capable.
“They have occasionally run low on certain supplies for brief time periods, but Abraham Lincoln and all ships in theatre currently have an adequate supply of food and supplies to sustain operations,” Hontz said.
“On a floating city with thousands of sailors and Marines on board, lines for meals and certain services do occasionally build up.”
Democratic Representative Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger, said shortages aboard the Abraham Lincoln were “completely unacceptable”.
President George W Bush on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003. Getty Images
He pointed his finger at the Trump administration.
“This is an objective national security issue. A health, welfare and fairness issue for our troops.
“There is no plan, and now we see the results of that.”
“The strain on our service members and their families is just building week-by-week.”
The Trump administration had previously denied there were food shortages aboard the Abraham Lincoln after unappetising photos of meals served aboard ships circulated in April.
One photo taken by a Marine showed a mostly empty lunch tray with a single scoop of shredded meat and one tortilla.
One meal consisted of ground meat and a single tortilla. Supplied
Another showed a meal of a handful of boiled carrots, a meat patty and another piece of processed meat.
Neither would be considered enough to satisfy an average person’s appetite.
The Abraham Lincoln has been at sea for nine months, with only brief stops at port in Guam and Oman during that time.
There are more than 5000 sailors and marines aboard the massive aircraft carrier.
Most US Navy facilities in the Middle East are located on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz, making it prohibitively risky for American vessels to make the journey.
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