Rusty State of USS Abraham Lincoln After Marathon Deployment Shocks Observers
Around 5,000 sailors and Marines are getting shore leave as the Navy faces questions over maintenance, morale and a sailor who went overboard.
- On Wednesday, the 1,100-foot-long USS Abraham Lincoln docked in Laem Chabang, Thailand, appearing heavily covered in rust following a 286-day deployment from its San Diego homeport.
- Experts note that rust along the waterline is expected on ships continuously at sea for 60 days or more; the Lincoln spent its deployment conducting combat and blockade operations against Iran in the Middle East.
- Former Navy captain Carl Schuster explained that removing the rust requires about 30 days of preservation work, though crews will address only critical areas during the seven-day Thailand port visit.
- President Donald Trump has previously criticized the Navy over warship appearances; former Navy Secretary John Phelan recalled Trump demanding he 'Fix the damn rust' during late-night calls.
- Beyond maintenance concerns, the Lincoln's deployment faced reports of morale problems and supply shortages, yet Trump dismissed these concerns, saying the deployment was 'not nearly long enough.
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Several sailors described the assignment as the worst they had ever been on, with complaints about poor conditions.
After the unwinned war against Iran and nine fruitless months in the ocean, the U.S. Navy carrier Avram Lincoln returns to his home in Thailand, writing Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov on a television channel.
After Months In Hormuz, USS Abraham Lincoln Limps Into Port Covered In Rust
The visible corrosion is not the only issue to have emerged from Lincoln's extended deployment. There have also been reports of low morale linked to supply shortages, along with at least one incident of a crew member going overboard.
China has sharply commented on the deplorable condition of the USS Abraham Lincoln. The newspaper writes that rust can be scrubbed away and repainted, but new paint cannot hide the structural fatigue of a system that relies on military power to maintain its global dominance.
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