“The strike group of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which arrived yesterday in the CENTCOM area of operations, is operating in the Middle East according to the planned deployment,” wrote the US Central Command (CENTCOM), overseeing US forces in the Middle East, in its social media post on X.
Scandal on a US aircraft carrier: conditions so bad that soldiers and sailors tried to jump overboard
15min reminds that families of US military personnel and members of Congress had begun sounding the alarm over the crisis on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, where 5,000 sailors and marines have been deployed at sea for more than 250 days due to the war in Iran.
According to reports, poor living conditions, stress, and continuously extended service pushed some to attempt suicide.
Two major specialized military publications, Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, reported that sailors on the aircraft carrier tried several times to jump overboard because the poor conditions and inhumane psychological pressure had reached a critical point.
Military personnel and sailors had already spent 9 months on the ship: during 250 days, they had the opportunity to go ashore only twice. This is a modern anti-record.
As the Stars and Stripes portal wrote, concerned families of the crew on board expressed their worries about their loved ones during an emotional meeting with the Navy leadership in San Diego.
One woman among about 200 gathered family members confided that her husband sent her a frightening message that day, stating: “I hope I don’t wake up tomorrow.”
The complaints of the gathered families were heard by the Navy leadership, represented by Acting Secretary Hung Cao and other high-ranking officials.
The Navy Times portal then shared detailed information that several suicides had been prevented on the aircraft carrier.
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Annabelle Loma told journalists that her husband tried to jump overboard when he learned that his sea service would be extended again.
“He is afraid. He thinks he will be dishonorably discharged, and just because he was exhausted, his 13-year career will be ruined, just like that,” the woman said.
The wife of another sailor said that her husband managed to stop a crew member of the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier from jumping into the sea. According to her, her husband grabbed his colleague at the last moment and pulled him back onto the deck.
California Democrat and Congressman Mike Levin expressed disappointment over the conditions on the warship, which had been conducting operations against Iran for five months.
“Rusty showers, broken toilets, laundry not working for weeks, long days without hot water, food consisting of half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant, or toothpaste,” he described the crew’s living conditions on the aircraft carrier on the social network X.
“The crew is so exhausted that, as one family member said, the ship’s doctor warned that they must reach port as soon as possible, or people will start losing their minds,” he added.
On Thursday, the long-awaited news appeared that the aircraft carrier USS George Washington reached the Middle East on Wednesday and is expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln.
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