The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier will make a routine port visit in Thailand to allow personnel to rest after a 250-day deployment.
The Thai navy announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier will make a brief port call in eastern Thailand next week. The stop is intended to allow the crew of roughly 5,000 personnel to rest and recuperate after spending more than 250 consecutive days at sea supporting U.S. operations against Iran. Reports of poor living conditions, including food shortages, plumbing problems, and declining mental health, have drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers. While the administration announced that the carrier's deployment was successful, some families of the sailors expressed frustration with the administration's remarks, noting that the deployment felt interminable. To address these logistical hurdles, the Navy is reviewing pre-deployment stocking and resupply methods. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle stated that the Navy is exploring new port calls in locations like Kenya and India to reduce the "transit tax" of long deployments. The USS George Washington has since relieved the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East.