The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrived in Thailand on Wednesday for its first port call in more than eight months, ending a marathon mission in the Middle East waters that raised health concerns for the crew.
The 100,000-ton ship left San Diego last November and will complete the longest deployment in U.S. Navy history when it returns to Southern California later this year.
According to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Lincoln set a new modern record for consecutive days at sea during combat and blockade missions in the war with Iran.
The extended deployment has caused morale problems amid supplies shortages, with at least one in 5,000 crew members potentially attempting suicide, CNN reported.
Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and a member of the Armed Services Committee, last month sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the acting secretary of the Navy expressing “grave concerns” about prolonged deployments and demanding answers about living conditions on aircraft carriers.
He said in the letter that there were “widely reported shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, poor mental health and deck safety concerns” on board the ship, and that “many care packages en route to the ship were lost in transit over several months due to disruptions in the postal system.”
Hegseth later declined to express his concerns about the report, but said the situation on the Lincoln had been “totally misrepresented.”
Asked about the length of the deployment, US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns, saying, “It’s not long enough.”
However, shortly after reports of the aircraft carrier malfunction became public, the Pentagon announced that the Japan-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington would be sent to the Middle East in place of the Lincoln.
It has been stationed there ever since, along with the aircraft carrier George H.W.
Critics said the departure of the USS George Washington from the East Asia region highlighted the Navy’s capability problems, leaving it without one of its largest warships to support allies and deter adversaries such as China and North Korea.
Speaking to reporters in Virginia last week, Adm. Darryl Caudle, the U.S. chief of naval operations, acknowledged the stress the extended deployment has placed on the Navy, its sailors and their families.
He said the military is trying to get more certainty about deployment times, but the demands of combat could make that difficult.
“As you know, I would like a seven-month deployment. I’m usually not in favor of an extension, I strongly oppose that. But the enemy will also be given a vote,” USNI News quoted Caudle as saying.
When the Lincoln docked at a port near Pattaya, Thailand, it came to a rest and relaxation spot that became famous during the Vietnam War as a raucous destination for U.S. service members to relax from the pressures of war.
Pattaya is less than an hour’s drive north of U-Tapao and was home to an air base that housed dozens of U.S. B-52 bombers during the Vietnam War. This base allowed the eight-engine bombers to reach North Vietnam in three to four hours, saving significant time and fuel from the B-52’s other major launching point, Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
At the height of the war, about 50,000 Americans were stationed at U-Tapao and other bases in Thailand.
As a treaty ally of the United States, Thailand provided a logical place for soldiers fighting in Vietnam to rest. According to a 2017 report from the Institute of Labor Economics, 11 to 16 percent of all visitors to Thailand in 1966-67 were U.S. military personnel on leave from Vietnam.
According to the institute, sex trafficking has expanded around US military bases and in beach spots such as Pattaya, facilitated in some way by US and Thai authorities.
According to the report, Thailand passed the Service Industry Establishment Act in 1966, which “allowed entertainment establishments across the country to employ women to provide ‘special services.'”
“Massage parlors, bars and coffee shops where customers can request these services have been legalized under license.”
A year later, Thailand and the United States “concluded the Rest and Recreation Treaty, formalizing an agreement between Thai authorities to authorize recreational services to U.S. military personnel,” the report said.
This treaty arrangement is widely considered to be the beginning of the sex tourism industry in Thailand.
After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the U.S. presence in Thailand diminished rapidly, but the sex industry survived, and places like Pattaya’s Walking Street are now crowded with massage parlors, bars, and clubs. Prostitution on the streets and in brothels is illegal, but activists have long argued that it unfairly criminalizes vulnerable sex workers.
Even before the Lincolns arrived, Thai authorities were touting a crackdown on sex workers suspected of operating outside licensed premises.
Police in Pattaya arrested at least 25 people over the weekend on suspicion of soliciting prostitution, according to local reports. This crime is punishable by a fine.
Local authorities say U.S. authorities have set rules barring staff from visiting cannabis dispensaries or participating in water sports such as jet skiing or parasailing.
Pattaya Mayor Polamet Gampiche said he hoped the Lincoln’s port visit would revitalize the local economy.
“It’s been our goal for Pattaya to be seen as an important vacation destination,” Polamet said, according to the Associated Press. “We welcome more military visits in the future, whether for training or for vacation, before returning to the United States.”
