Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier will stop in Thailand next week for rest and recovery after a long deployment in the Middle East, Thai officials said on Wednesday. The carrier had been supporting the US war against Iran and spent more than 250 days at sea without a break, a record for uninterrupted time at sea.
The lengthy deployment has raised concerns after reports about deteriorating mental health among crew members and shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products. Thai defence ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said the carrier would visit Thailand before returning to its US base.
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“The stop in Thailand is a chance for the crew to go ashore and relax,” Surasant told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok. On Tuesday, the Royal Thai Navy said three ships from a US Navy carrier strike group were due to stop in eastern Thailand and that no military exercises would be held during the visit.
Extended carrier deployments place pressure on service members who remain away from home for long periods and also increase strain on ships and their equipment. Although renewed hostilities between the US and Iran have eased in recent weeks, the Navy is enforcing a reimposed blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration has not said how it plans to wind down the conflict, which reaches the six-month mark this week.
Separately on Wednesday, the US Navy’s top uniformed officer said it took time to put a “process in place so that we were really replenishing at sea in an effective and systematic way” after the surprise needed to launch the Iran war. Speaking about the Lincoln, Admiral Daryl Caudle said the problem was not a lack of protein or vegetables, but items such as hygiene products, energy drinks and soda that sailors expected during long deployments.
He said parts, food and “niceties” moved through different supply chains and that “we had to get all those dialled in”, adding that “there was some learning curve on our replenishment process”. “It’s a fair critique that there were some puts and takes at the beginning of Epic Fury until we got that dialled in,” Caudle said, referring to the war’s code name. “I think we’re in a good place on that now.” The US embassy in Bangkok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Lincoln’s stop in Thailand, while the US Navy declined comment. Overall, the visit is being presented as a recovery halt for the crew after a demanding deployment marked by operational strain and supply issues.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
