- Sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln report poor morale and man-overboard attempts after nine months at sea.
- The president's sharp denial came a day after MeidasTouch reported on text messages from a sailor saying the ship has had no resupply of perishables such as milk.
- When a reporter mentioned that sailors’ family members are worried about the state of the crew, Trump cut off the journalist with a curt reply: “No, they’re not,” he said.
- Trump added that the ship is moving or will move shortly and is being replaced with another similar ship: “That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it's being replaced with another very similar ship,” he added.
- The sailor reportedly said in the text messages that “We haven’t had anything fresh but meat cause it’s freezed. Sometimes it gets here rotten.”
- The same sailor noted that a shipmate argued the extended deployment could be “an experiment the government is doing to see how far they can push sailors limits of being out to sea with the worst experience.”
President Trump vehemently denied reports of low morale aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, stating, “No, they’re not,” when asked about families' concerns. He claimed the ship is currently moving and will soon be replaced.1345
However, reports suggest dire conditions for sailors, with one anonymous sailor revealing, “We haven’t had anything fresh but meat cause it’s freezed. Sometimes it gets here rotten.” The sailor also expressed fears that the extended deployment, originally set to end in May, is a government experiment to test sailors' limits during a prolonged absence from home.67
The USS Abraham Lincoln has been stationed in the Gulf region for nearly a year, and families are increasingly worried about the crew's well-being and supply shortages. The sailor's texts indicate a lack of fresh food due to logistical issues with supply ships, raising alarms about the crew's health and morale.
Trump's comments come amid growing scrutiny of military conditions and the impact of extended deployments on service members and their families.
“The denial follows MeidasTouch's report of a sailor's text messages saying the ship has had no fresh supplies like milk, with one message noting 'We haven't had anything fresh but meat cause it's freezed.' The deployment, originally to end in May, has been repeatedly extended amid the war with Iran.”
The Independent
